The ceasefire which rebels were calling “doomed” last weekend officially began today, and so far it is holding, with only a handful of incidents by both sides and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisting that the ceasefire would only be “meaningful” if it leads to regime change.

 

Indeed, to hear Western officials talk you wouldn’t even know that a ceasefire is in place, with Presidents Obama and Sarkozy issuing a statement demanding that Syria stop its “brutal crackdown” and vowing more steps at the UN Security council hours after the ceasefire had already begun.

The US also lodged a formal complaint with the UN Security Council claiming that Syria wasn’t in “full compliance” with the Annan plan despite the ceasefire. The UN is expected to send monitors for the ceasefire int he next few days.