3 ways the Syria ceasefire could go wrong

The U.N.'s peace envoy says Syria's warring sides have agreed to stop fighting during Islam's Eid al-Adha holiday. Will the truce happen — and would it do any good?

Lakhdar Brahimi, international peace envoy for Syria, announces on Oct. 24 that Bashar al-Assad's regime agreed to a holiday ceasefire with the rebels it has been fighting for 19 months.
(Image credit: REUTERS Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

United Nations-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi raised hopes for a break from the bloodshed in Syria on Wednesday, when he announced that the Syrian government and most rebel groups had agreed to a four-day ceasefire this weekend to mark the main Muslim holiday of the year. "If this humble initiative succeeds, we hope that we can build on it," Brahimi said. It remained unclear who would respect the temporary truce. The Syrian government said its military was still studying Brahimi's proposal and wouldn't say until Thursday whether it would honor the plan. Several opposition leaders said they didn't trust the government of President Bashar al-Assad to suspend its attacks, and al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants said there would "be no truce between us and the prideful regime and shedder of the blood of Muslims." Could the ceasfire advance Brahimi's push for peace, or could it backfire? Here, three ways it could go wrong:

1. It will give Assad a chance to regroup

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