A ceasefire across Syria, brokered by Russia and Turkey, came into force after the government and armed opposition groups accepted the truce agreement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Bashar al-Assad, announced the deal on Thursday after preparing the agreement with Turkey, a long time backer of the opposition groups.
The ceasefire began at 12am local time (3:30 am IST). Russia and Turkey have pledged to act as the guarantors.
A statement carried on Thursday by Syria’s state news agency SANA said the truce agreement excluded ISIS, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and “groups linked to them”.
According to the Russian ministry of defence, the seven rebel groups that have signed the agreement are: Feilak al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Thuwar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Mujahideen, Jaysh Idlib and Jabhat al-Shamiyyah.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Thursday that the seven groups that signed the deal included 60,000 fighters.
According to an AFP correspondent in Eastern Ghouta, the shelling and air strikes stopped in the region after intensive shelling and raids on Thursday.
AFP correspondents in Damascus and Idlib said there had been no sound of shelling, airstrikes or clashes since midnight
