Warplanes yesterday unleashed air strikes on the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus and near the rebel-held city of Aleppo, hours before a ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia was due to go into effect at midnight.

Warplanes have unleashed air strikes on the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus and near the rebel-held city of Aleppo, hours before a ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia was due to go into effect.

The Syrian president has assured Russia’s Vladimir Putin of Damascus’ commitment to a Russia-US proposed truce, even as a spokesman for a Saudi-backed alliance of Syrian opposition and rebel factions expressed “major concerns” about the ceasefire, due to begin this week.

The Syrian opposition cast doubt on whether it would go to peace talks planned for Friday — throwing UN diplomatic efforts into question as it accused the US of adopting unacceptable Iranian and Russian ideas for solving the conflict.