ISTANBUL, Turkey — Before the Syrian regime launched an offensive in Aleppo in April, the "cessation of hostilities" that went into effect Feb. 27 had noticeably reduced civilian deaths although riven with violations. In the first five days alone, more than 180 violations of the agreement brokered by the United States and Russia were documented, and vast swaths of territory were excluded from the cease-fire. As of the end of 2015, the Syrian civil war had killed at least 470,000 people, according to some estimates, with the vast majority of civilian deaths caused by government attacks.

Islam Alloush, spokesperson for rebel faction Jaish al-Islam, told Al-Monitor in an interview in Istanbul that the cease-fire had been good for the country from the standpoint of lowering civilian deaths, but it had been "negative" militarily for the opposition forces.

"In the countryside of Damascus, in eastern Ghouta and Daraya, the regime never agreed to a cease-fire," said Alloush, who had been an officer in the Syrian military prior to joining Jaish al-Islam. "I think the regime got involved in the cease-fire to stop fighting in other areas in order to concentrate on these areas, given their strategic importance."

Ghouta was the site of the chemical weapons attacks on Aug. 21, 2013, that killed several hundred people. The eastern section has been under seige by government forces for more than three years.