Islamist rebels have shot down a Syrian government warplane near Aleppo. The truce was already being loosely enforced, but this will likely bring to the truce to an end, as Syrian forces are now preparing for an attack on Aleppo. 

The U.S. is supposedly behind the attack this past weekend that killed a prominent al Nusra leader. This could suggest that the U.S. is increasing their military presence in Syria. 

An Air strike has killed a prominent member of al Nusra, Abu Firas al-Suri, along with at least 20 al Nusra fighters. It is unclear whether the airstrike was Syrian or Russian.

Russia claims to be withdrawing from Syria, but the countries actions suggest otherwise. It seems as if they have long term military presence planned in Syria.

Russia announced its removal of military presence from Syria was starting last week. It seems as if reallocating their military resources within Syria is more accurate; they have been shipping in increased amounts of supplies for Syrian forces.

Assad has rejected a main component of the opposition's demands. He does not want to elect a transitional body for the transitional period, and instead wants the current government to see out the transition. 

IS left behind hundreds of mines in the town of Palmyra. Experts are currently working on disarming them, and have disarmed 150 bombs so far in the city. The mines are keeping historians from reaching remote sites in the town to assess damage done by IS. 

Syrian forces, backed by Russian military, have captured the city of Palmyra from IS after three week offensive. This is seen as a big victory for Assad and is expected to increase support for the president. 

Russian convoys en route to Damascus and Hama in Syria was attacked by militants before reaching their destination. No one was injured, and replacement convoys are being assembled. 

Syrian government forces have pushed back IS militants and reached the edge of Palmyra. The city was previously held by IS, during which they destroyed two 2,000 year old temples.

Putin has decided to withdraw the bulk of Russian forces from Syria. This comes as a surprise, but he claims that Russia's military objective in Syria have been completed.

Both the Syrian government and the opposition have reported violations of the cease fire. Although the US is on board with the truce, Russia seems to believe they are not and are planning to use force against violators until the US agrees to the joint rules. 

The UN is expecting the nearing peace talks to be more successful than previous attempts. They will largely focus on forming an administration and elections for the transitional period. 

ISIS's Minister of War, who had a 5 million dollar bounty on his head, was likely killed by a US airstrike near Al-Shadaddi in Syria. This will hopefully lessen the violence as peace talks near.

It is confirmed that yellow phosphorus gas has been used by jihadists in Aleppo. Violence has continued to persist here despite the cease fire. 

Al-Nusura fired mortars into Turkey, hoping to initiate a military response. Their goal is to disrupt the advances towards peace that are being made.

This is a specific example of Syria violating the cease fire. Israel has accused Syria of using chemical warfare since the beginning of the cease fire.

The UN has moved peace talks concerning Syria back to March 9th. This is to let the current cessation of hostilities settle down even more; there is a reduction in violence, but both sides of the conflict are still violating the cease fire.

John Kerry has said that all alleged violations of the ceasefire in Syria will be investigated. Going forward, the US and Russia are working on ensuring that airstrikes only hit ISIS or al-Qaeda occupied areas.