BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy trying to broker a peace deal in Syria, announced on Wednesday a tentative cease-fire between the two sides to mark the main Muslim holiday of the year, but numerous do-it-yourself aspects of the plan immediately called into question whether it would quiet any fighting.
Open uncertainties included the time frame of what was designed to be a temporary cease-fire for the Id al-Adha, the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice, expected to start Friday for much of the Muslim world. Different nations and different sects can observe the holiday for anywhere from one to five days, however, so it was not clear exactly how long any truce should last.
On a more basic level, it was not quite clear who would respect it among the warring parties. Syrian state television announced that Damascus was studying the proposal and would make an announcement on Thursday, according to wire service reports. Various leaders among the fractious rebels issued their own statements saying they doubted it would hold.
It was also unclear that there would be anyone around to police it — the United Nations withdrew its observers last summer and could not likely deploy new ones in 48 hours.
Mr. Brahimi seemed to be relying on the fact that both sides in the civil war, which grew out of a peaceful protest movement that started in March 2011, would respect it all on their own.
Speaking at a news conference in Cairo, he said that the Syrian government was poised to announce the cease-fire and that the rebel factions he was in contact with had promised to respect it as well.
“Other factions in Syria that we were able to contact, leaders of fighting groups, most of them also agreed on the principle of the cease-fire,” Mr. Brahimi said after briefing Nabil Elaraby, the secretary-general of the Arab League.
Mr. Brahimi is the envoy for the Arab League and the United Nations. He replaced Kofi Annan in September after Mr. Annan resigned in frustration over the lack of progress in halting the violence.
“We hope that we can build on this initiative to be able to talk about a real cease-fire, a longer and stronger cease-fire,” he said. As he spoke various men and women known for their work in international mediation efforts, including former President Jimmy Carter of the United States and former President Mary Robinson of Ireland, as well as Mr. Elaraby, stood behind him.
Rebel commanders noted that while the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus was ostensibly talking about a cease-fire, its forces were busy shelling rebel fighters and civilians in various cities, including Qusayr outside Homs and Maaret al-Noaman near Idlib in the north.
The prevailing opinion among rebel commanders seemed to be that the government was only agreeing to a cease-fire as a tactical measure to regroup to try to reverse wide rebel gains, especially in the north. A cease-fire has been part of a six-point peace plan first broached by Mr. Annan in March, and although the Damascus government has repeatedly said it would implement the plan, it never did.
“The regime doesn’t have any credibility whatsoever,” said Qasim Saad ad-Din, the commander of the rebel military council in Homs, saying that the rebels had been duped into accepting previous cease-fires. “Our plan is to continue fighting until the regime falls, God willing.”
Mr. Saad ad-Din said he was worried that the announced cease-fire was more a media event than a real plan.
“Brahimi is just a diplomat,” he said in an interview via Skype. “He doesn’t have a mechanism in place to execute his plan,” he added. “Who is going to monitor the situation to make sure the regime is complying?”
Other commanders said they might respect the cease-fire if certain conditions were met, including a release of all prisoners on charges of supporting the rebels and the lifting of the siege around major cities like Aleppo and Homs, as well as not maneuvering to strengthen its positions under the cover of a cease-fire.
David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, and Hania Mourtada from Beirut.
Open uncertainties included the time frame of what was designed to be a temporary cease-fire for the Id al-Adha, the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice, expected to start Friday for much of the Muslim world. Different nations and different sects can observe the holiday for anywhere from one to five days, however, so it was not clear exactly how long any truce should last.
On a more basic level, it was not quite clear who would respect it among the warring parties. Syrian state television announced that Damascus was studying the proposal and would make an announcement on Thursday, according to wire service reports. Various leaders among the fractious rebels issued their own statements saying they doubted it would hold.
It was also unclear that there would be anyone around to police it — the United Nations withdrew its observers last summer and could not likely deploy new ones in 48 hours.
Mr. Brahimi seemed to be relying on the fact that both sides in the civil war, which grew out of a peaceful protest movement that started in March 2011, would respect it all on their own.
Speaking at a news conference in Cairo, he said that the Syrian government was poised to announce the cease-fire and that the rebel factions he was in contact with had promised to respect it as well.
“Other factions in Syria that we were able to contact, leaders of fighting groups, most of them also agreed on the principle of the cease-fire,” Mr. Brahimi said after briefing Nabil Elaraby, the secretary-general of the Arab League.
Mr. Brahimi is the envoy for the Arab League and the United Nations. He replaced Kofi Annan in September after Mr. Annan resigned in frustration over the lack of progress in halting the violence.
“We hope that we can build on this initiative to be able to talk about a real cease-fire, a longer and stronger cease-fire,” he said. As he spoke various men and women known for their work in international mediation efforts, including former President Jimmy Carter of the United States and former President Mary Robinson of Ireland, as well as Mr. Elaraby, stood behind him.
Rebel commanders noted that while the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus was ostensibly talking about a cease-fire, its forces were busy shelling rebel fighters and civilians in various cities, including Qusayr outside Homs and Maaret al-Noaman near Idlib in the north.
The prevailing opinion among rebel commanders seemed to be that the government was only agreeing to a cease-fire as a tactical measure to regroup to try to reverse wide rebel gains, especially in the north. A cease-fire has been part of a six-point peace plan first broached by Mr. Annan in March, and although the Damascus government has repeatedly said it would implement the plan, it never did.
“The regime doesn’t have any credibility whatsoever,” said Qasim Saad ad-Din, the commander of the rebel military council in Homs, saying that the rebels had been duped into accepting previous cease-fires. “Our plan is to continue fighting until the regime falls, God willing.”
Mr. Saad ad-Din said he was worried that the announced cease-fire was more a media event than a real plan.
“Brahimi is just a diplomat,” he said in an interview via Skype. “He doesn’t have a mechanism in place to execute his plan,” he added. “Who is going to monitor the situation to make sure the regime is complying?”
Other commanders said they might respect the cease-fire if certain conditions were met, including a release of all prisoners on charges of supporting the rebels and the lifting of the siege around major cities like Aleppo and Homs, as well as not maneuvering to strengthen its positions under the cover of a cease-fire.
David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, and Hania Mourtada from Beirut.