BEIRUT -- Syria's military extended a unilateral cease-fire around the capital city of Damascus for another 24 hours on Sunday, as relative calm set in across much of the country after days of heavy fighting concentrated in the northern city of Aleppo.
Aleppo, the country's largest city and a key battleground in the civil war, was not covered by the cease-fire but saw less fighting Sunday. More than 250 people have died in shelling and airstrikes in the city over the past nine days, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The government declared its own cease-fire around Damascus and the coastal Latakia region Friday after two weeks of escalating unrest. But more than three dozen rebel factions said Saturday that they would not respect the truce unless the government agreed to extend it over the entire country.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko told Russian news agencies at a Russian air force base in Syria that Moscow's forces were negotiating a cease-fire for the Aleppo province.
The observatory said 859 civilians, including 143 children, died in Syria's conflict in April, despite a partial cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia in late February. That cease-fire disintegrated in recent weeks, largely over the fighting in and around Aleppo.
In Aleppo, as in the rest of the country, pro-government forces were responsible for most of the civilian casualties, according to the observatory, which relies on a network of opposition activists inside Syria.
The international humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders said that at least 50 people, including six medical personnel, died in the attack on Al-Quds hospital, which was supported by Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appealed to his Russian counterpart for assistance in containing and reducing the violence, particularly around Aleppo.
"We are talking directly to the Russians, even now," Kerry said on his arrival in Geneva as he began talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. "The hope is we can make some progress, but the U.N. Security Council resolution calls for a full country, countrywide, cessation and also for all of the country to be accessible to humanitarian assistance. Obviously that hasn't happened and isn't happening.
"These are critical hours. We look for Russia's cooperation. We obviously look for the regime to listen to Russia and to respond to the international communities' powerful statement to the U.N. Security Council."
Kerry spoke at length Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to that end and had been hoping to meet with Lavrov soon, U.S. officials said.
In Geneva, Kerry met with Judeh and was to meet U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir today before returning to Washington.
In his Sunday remarks to the faithful in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis lamented the "spiral of violence" that was "reaping innocent victims, even among children, the sick and those who with great sacrifice are committed to helping their neighbors."
The pope said he was "exhorting all sides involved in the conflict to respect the cessation of hostilities and reinforce ongoing dialogue."
Information for this article was contributed by Matthew Lee of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/02/2016