Seventy-two groups have joined Syria truce — Russian Defense Ministry.

Seventy-two groups have joined Syria truce — Russian Defense Ministry. (Tass).

"The number of illegal armed groups stating their commitment to accepting and complying with ceasefire terms has grown to 72," said the report posted on the website of the Russian Defense Ministry.

A ceasefire agreement has been signed with a settlement in Syrian Homs province in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of settlements joining the reconciliation process to 72, an information bulletin of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria said on Monday.

"An agreement on cessation of hostilities was signed in Damascus province with a representative of armed units numbering more than 500 people. The number of illegal armed groups stating their commitment to accepting and complying with ceasefire terms has grown to 72," said the report posted on the website of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ceasefire in Syria has been generally observed, with nine violations reported in the past day, namely four - in the province of Damascus, four - in the province of Latakia, and one - in the province of Aleppo. Read the full story here.

#Lavrov calls #Kerry's offer to split #Syria into zones of influence "a simplistic idea."
Quite expected reaction. pic.twitter.com/VEuHiKuHRL

— Alexey Khlebnikov (@AleksKhlebnikov) April 25, 2016