Airstrikes reported in northern Syria

Syria’s fragile ceasefire enters a second day with battle zones still largely quiet for the first time in five years, despite sporadic incidents including several airstrikes.

The truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial step towards ending a conflict that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population.

The convoluted patchwork of territorial control in Syria, wrapped up in a brutal civil war since 2011, has complicated efforts to implement the deal.

Warplanes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bomb seven villages Sunday in the northern province of Aleppo and Hama in the center, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It is unclear if the raids hit areas covered by the ceasefire, which excludes territory held by the Islamic State jihadist group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.

According to Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, only one of the villages, Kafr Hamra in Aleppo province, is controlled by Al-Nusra and the others are in the hands of non-jihadist rebels.

— AFP