Assad regime accused of killing 29 since Syria deal

 Syrian opposition has accused the Syrian regime and its allies of killing 29 people in attacks following the recently agreed cessation of hostilities agreement.

In a letter sent to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday, head of the opposition-linked Syrian High Negotiations Committee, Riyad Hijab, said that the Bashar al-Assad regime, Russia, Iran and other foreign armed units were carrying out attacks against Syrian people despite an agreement to cease hostilities entering into force on Feb. 27.

Hijab said the regime forces had violated the deal in 25 different regions held by the opposition with 24 artillery shelling incidents and five ground operations. He also said that Russian warplanes supported regime forces by carrying out 26 air attacks, including attacks with cluster and vacuum bombs.

The committee called on the UN and Friends of Syria group to take necessary measures to stop Russian violations.

The cessation-of-hostilities agreement, brokered last week by the U.S. and Russia, came into effect midnight Friday local time.

Syria has remained locked in a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests, which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings.

Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to figures released by the UN.