![The civil defence team carry out search and rescue operations after the Assad regime carried out airstrikes [Ahmed Hasan Ubeyd - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/20161206_2_20542261_16721776-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Syrian army said it would suspend combat operations in southern Syria until Thursday, including in Quneitra province where Israel has hit army outposts in recent days, according to a statement carried by state television.
The army general command said the ceasefire took effect from midday (09:00 GMT) yesterday and was being done to support “reconciliation efforts”, in the second unilateral ceasefire in the last two weeks.
Read: 10 killed in bomb explosion in Idlib province
On 17 June, the army announced a ceasefire that only affected fighting in the southern city of Dara’a along the border with Israel.
This latest announcement extends the ceasefire alongside Daraa city to the whole of southern Syria, including the strategic southwestern Quneitra province near the border with Israel and also Sweida province in the southeast.