Syria Ceasefire Holding Better Than Expected, Obama Officials Say

WASHINGTON -- Five days after a U.S.-Russian brokered cessation of hostilities went into effect, White House officials on Wednesday reported a definite decrease in violence in Syria, but acknowledged imperfect compliance with the agreement and warned that any progress could still be unraveled.

Under the agreement advocated by the United States and Russia, who back opposite sides in Syria's civil war, all parties to the conflict agreed to lay down their weapons, allow humanitarian groups to deliver aid to besieged areas, and ultimately work toward a negotiated political end to the war. Complicating implementation of the deal is the fact that all parties are allowed to continue fighting against an agreed-upon list of terrorist groups: the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups with a United Nations terror designation.

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