Russia urges Syrian rebels to separate from ‘terrorists’

BEIRUT — Russia said Wednesday that separating Syrian rebels from “terrorists” is a “key task” to ensure that the Russia-U.S.-brokered cease-fire continues to hold in Syria, where a relative calm has prevailed since the truce went into effect two days ago.

For their part, opposition forces said they had recorded some 28 various violations by government troops on Tuesday.

By evening Wednesday, there were no reports of major violations of the agreement, which calls on all parties to hold their fire, allowing only for air strikes against the extremist Islamic State and al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

Kerry spoke to Lavrov Wednesday and they agreed that “as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding and violence is significantly lower,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

[...] some 20 trucks carrying U.N aid and destined for rebel-held eastern Aleppo remained in the customs area on the border with Turkey on Wednesday “because of lack of de facto assurances of safe passage by all parties,” said Jens Laerke, deputy spokesman for the U.N. office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in an email.