Skepticism Surrounds Syrian Cease-fire Agreement

The Syrian army has agreed to a four-day cease-fire with opposition forces in observance of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, beginning Friday.

According to Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who proposed the cease-fire with the backing of the U.N., most Syrian opposition groups are supporting the initiative, but previous cease-fires have been violated by both sides, and skepticism remains over the effectiveness of this most recent declaration.

The Syrian government has said that the military will continue to respond to “terrorist attacks, attempts of armed groups to reinforce or resupply or attempts to infiltrate from neighboring countries,” the BBC reported.

Since the uprising against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, the U.N. has estimated more than 9,000 people have been killed, though activists say the death toll has reach more than 30,000.