ALEPPO, Syria — The neighborhoods in Aleppo controlled by the Syrian opposition have been experiencing relative calm after the 48-hour truce approved by the United States and Russia took effect Sept. 12. As US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to extend the cease-fire for another 48 hours on the night of Sept. 14, Gen. Viktor Poznikhir, the Russian army’s chief of staff, said in a press statement that Moscow supports the extension of the truce for another 48 hours.

Poznikhir described the truce as fragile and said that the fighting factions violated it 60 times in the past 48 hours. He noted that most violations were committed by Ahrar al-Sham.

It is noteworthy that the truce did not include the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, even though they are present in Idlib and in the eastern and southern countryside of Aleppo.

After the truce took effect, the people in Aleppo went out to the streets without fear of being targeted by the Syrian regime’s planes and helicopters. Children filled Aleppo’s gardens to bid the warm weather farewell. They played without worrying about the shelling and without jeopardizing their lives.