Syria army says to cease military operations Friday

DAMASCUS: Syria's army said it will cease military operations on Friday, in line with an internationally backed truce during a Muslim holiday, but that it reserves the right to respond to rebel aggression.

"Military operations will cease on Syrian territory as of Friday morning, until Monday," the army said in a statement read on state television.

"(The military) reserves the right to respond to continuing attacks on civilians and government forces by armed groups."

A peace initiative by UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi calls on both sides to observe a truce during the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha that begins Friday.

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) did not immediately respond to the announcement, but it had been wary of any commitment from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, as was the United States.

If it holds, a ceasefire would mark the first real breakthrough in halting -- even temporarily -- the 19-month conflict that rights groups say has killed more than 35,000 people.

Shortly before the announcement, there were no signs of a slowdown in the fighting, with rebels moving into a strategically important Kurdish neighbourhood in the main battleground city of Aleppo.

Residents in Aleppo's Ashrafiyeh district -- a key area in the heights of the city on a route between its central and northern parts -- said about 200 rebels had moved in to the area for the first time.

One resident said the rebels, who arrived on vehicles mounted with heavy machineguns and bearing the markings of the Liwa al-Tawhid main rebel unit, made it clear they were settling in for Eid despite the promises of a ceasefire.

"Snipers have set up in the buildings and 50 armed men, dressed in black and wearing headbands with Islamic slogans, entered a school near me. I heard them tell the residents: 'We are here to spend Eid with you'," he told AFP.

"I am waiting for things to calm down before leaving," he said.