A ceasefire proposed by the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has come into force in Syria in an attempt to prevent further violence.

The ceasefire came into force at 6am on 12 April, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the opposition both stating that they will keep to the terms of the ceasefire, but would respond to any armed attacks.

Annan set the 12 April deadline after Damascus had ignored an original deadline of 10 April to remove all troops from Syrian towns.

Western states have expressed doubts on whether the Syrian regime will keep to the terms of the ceasefire. William Hague, British Foreign Secretary, has said that the UK will put pressure on the UN about to send monitors to Syria to ensure that both sides stick to the ceasefire.

Gulf states recently agreed to set up a multimillion-dollar fund to pay salaries to members of the Syrian opposition forces. According to the UN, at least 9,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the unrest in Syria that began in March last year.