Ceasefire in Syria appears to hold

After breaking a commitment to pull back forces from population centres by Tuesday under the agreement brokered by former UN chief Kofi Annan, there were still no signs of a withdrawal, monitors said.u00a0

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"An hour after the ultimatum expired, the situation is calm in all regions," said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.u00a0

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A "few explosions" were heard in the town of Zabadani, just outside the capital, shortly after the ceasefire entered into effect, Abdel Rahman told AFP in Beirut.u00a0

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"There has not been any movement indicating a withdrawal of tanks," he added. The report could not be verified due to the Damascus government's curbs on media.u00a0

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Just hours before the deadline expired at 0830 IST, the military unleashed a lethal offensive against protest centres, killing 25 civilians yesterday, including 10 in the rebel stronghold of Rastan, said the Observatory.u00a0

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That was the same day that Annan, serving as a peace envoy for the UN and the Arab League, said he received a letter from Syria promising to "cease all military fighting throughout Syrian territory as of 6:00 am."u00a0

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But the letter reserved the right "to respond proportionately to any attacks carried out by armed terrorist groups," a phrase President Bashar al-Assad's government uses to describe opposition forces.u00a0

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US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed in a telephone call that the UN Security Council, which gave its blessing to Annan's plan, needed to "take more resolute action" on Syria.

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