Aleppo truce extended for another 48 hours: Syria army

A truce in Aleppo in northern Syria between government forces and rebels that was due to expire late on Monday has been extended by 48 hours, Syria’s army command said.

"The 'regime of silence' in Aleppo and its province has been extended by 48 hours from Tuesday at 1:00 am (local time) to midnight on Wednesday," a statement said.

Last Saturday, a 72-hour truce in Aleppo was put in place until Tuesday at 00:01 local time (21:01 GMT on Monday), allowing displaced families to return home and for schools to reopen.

Residents trickled back into eastern areas of Aleppo, encouraged by a halt in the deadly violence that hit last month, an AFP reporter said.

More than 300 civilians were killed in two weeks of fighting in the divided city before the truce took hold on Thursday, with government air strikes on its opposition-held east and rebel shelling on its government-controlled west.

"I decided to come home after relatives told me it was calm," father-of-six Abu Mohammed said.

"We left because it was carnage here. The air strikes were incredible," said the resident of the rebel-held Kalasseh neighbourhood. 

The international community hopes that a drop in fighting can revive faltering peace talks to end a five-year war that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.

Schools in Aleppo's east reopened on Saturday after staying closed for more than two weeks, the AFP reporter said.

"Almost all students have come back, apart from those who fled their neighbourhoods," a primary school teacher in the Shaar district said.

The truce held in Aleppo on Thursday and Friday after violence in the city last month severely threatened a nationwide ceasefire between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and most rebel groups.