John Kerry battles to save Syrian truce

GENEVA 3rd May 2016 (WAM) -- The U.S. has said that progress is being made toward restoring a truce in Syria as the Syrian military extended its own unilateral cease-fire in some areas including Damascus. But violence continues to rage farther north in Aleppo.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Geneva meeting with the U.N.'s envoy for Syria when he expressed optimism but stopped short of detailing truce proposals.

"We are working intensely over these next hours in order to try to restore the cessation of hostilities and at the same time raise the level of accountability that will accompany the day-to-day process of implementing this cease-fire" Kerry said before speaking by phone with his counterpart in Moscow explaining that the U.S. and Russia had agreed to station personnel around the clock in Geneva to better monitor a new truce.