Syrian government violates Eid ceasefire within hours of announcing it

The Syrian government has violated a three-day ceasefire with air strikes and shelling in the country's Aleppo province

7 July 2016, 9:00am

1 min read

In Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed after five years of civil war

At least two children were killed by rebel forces when the latter shot shells into the town of al-Zahra while war planes dropped bombs on the northern Aleppo area on Wednesday, and government forces fired shells in the nearby town of Anadan, according to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

President Bashar al-Assad's government had declared the three-day ceasefire earlier in the day, which is set to last until the end of Friday, according to the state-run news agency SANA.

The ceasefire coincides with the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Al Jazeera refers to a statement posted online by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel coalition, where FSA said it agreed to the Eid holiday ceasefire.

"Until now, (the government) has not abided by what it has announced, in that it has launched a number of attacks in various areas today," the statement said.