Amid cease-fire, Syrians rally against Assad in rebel areas

FILE -- In this March 2, 2016, file photo, Syrian solders and Russian solders, who escort a group of journalists in the background, stand near a car covered by collage showing photos of faces of Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and a Syrian general, President's Assad brother, Maher Assad, center, in Maarzaf, about 15 kilometers west of Hama. A shaky cease-fire in Syria brokered by Moscow and Washington has survived its first week, outlasting expectations and providing a glimmer of hope that a diplomatic solution to the five-year-old war may be possible.(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File) FILE -- In this March 2, 2016, file photo, Syrian solders and Russian solders, who escort a group of journalists in the background, stand near a car covered by collage showing photos of faces of Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and a Syrian general, President's Assad brother, Maher Assad, center, in Maarzaf, about 15 kilometers west of Hama. A shaky cease-fire in Syria brokered by Moscow and Washington has survived its first week, outlasting expectations and providing a glimmer of hope that a diplomatic solution to the five-year-old war may be possible.(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

By Associated Press March 4, 2016 4 min read

BEIRUT (AP) – Amid a week-long cease-fire that has mostly held around Syria, opponents of President Bashar Assad staged small demonstrations Friday in rebel-held areas to call for his resignation.

Hundreds of Syrians protested in the eastern sector of the city of Aleppo, in the western Waer neighborhood of Homs and in Idlib province, calling on Assad’s government to release detainees and lift several sieges – key demands of the opposition, ahead of peace talks planned to resume in Geneva next week.

In Paris, meanwhile, France’s president said discussions about a political transition in Syria will “accelerate” with the truce holding across the war-wracked country.

High-level international discussions about Syria have intensified since the ceasefire went into effect last Saturday, although the truce does not encompass the whole of the country.

The “cessation of hostilities,” which was brokered by the United States and Russia, does not include the Islamic State group and al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, as well as other militant factions designated terrorist organizations by the United Nations.