Operation Featherweight: Month 20, Week 1, Day 3.

On Friday (26/2/16) at 22:00 (GMT) a cease-fire went into effect in Syria. There seems to be a degree of confusion over which armed groups this cease-fire applies to.

However it is crystal clear which groups are not covered by the cease-fire;

It does not cover the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It does not cover Al Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al Nusra Front (ANF). Nor does it apply to any other individual, group, undertaking or entity associated with either ISIL or ANF;  UNSCR 2254 (2015) - Paragraph 9.

Although it makes me sound like I've got a terrible stutter I refer to the ANF as "The Al Nusra Front" because that is how they are listed in the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. However like "The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)" this is one of those appalling mixes of English and Arabic. ANF's full Arabic name is; "Jabhat al-Nusra" while it's full English name is; "The Support Front."

Rather like its parent organisation Al Qaeda - literally; "The Base" - this is exactly how ANF functions in Syria. As a support network for all the other Islamist terror groups. In March 2015 this support role was formalised with numerous other groups officially allying themselves with ANF to form the Army of Conquest/Jaish al-Fatah (JAF) coalition.

As such the following groups are also not covered by the cease-fire agreement;

• The Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant/Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham al-Islamiyya,

• The Army of Islam/Jaish al-Islam,

• The Right Brigade/Liwa al-Haqq,

• The Army of Sunna/Jaish al-Sunna,

• The Assembly of Iman Bukhari/Iman Bukhari Jamaat,

• The Army of Victory/Jaish al-Nasr,

• The Soldiers of Al-Aqsa/Jund al-Aqsa,

• The Levant Legion/Faylaq al-Sham,

•  The Soldiers of the Levant/Ajnad al-Sham,

• The Falcons of the Levant/Suquor al-Sham,

• The Levant Front/Jahbat al-Sham.

Those last four groups in particular are currently operating the 100km (60 mile) stretch of Syria's northern border between the Euphrates River to the east and the town on Azaz to the west. Here they are fighting directly alongside the ANF and are being supported by Turkey. As such they are formally associated with several other groups;

• The Syrian Turkmen Brigade/Suriye Türkmen Ordusu - note the lack of Arabic,

• The First Coastal Division/Forqat al-Awwal As-Sahli,

• The Second Coastal Division/Forqat al-Thaniaan As-Sahli.

Collectively these groups - it is far from an exhaustive list - occupy all areas of Raqqa Province, Aleppo Province, Idlib Province, Hama Province, Homs Province and Latakia Province not under the control of either the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) or Kurdish forces. They also occupy towns/suburbs in and around the capital city Damascus.

Obviously the cease-fire equally does not cover any of these areas.

The western media are still mistakenly describing these groups as "Rebels" and showing on maps/graphics the areas they occupy as somehow separate from ISIL/ANF controlled areas. Under the terms of the wider cessation of hostility agreement they are going to have to cease this misleading practice.

The only groups I can think of that are covered by the cease-fire are possibly the Southern Front and certainly both the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD). However the cease-fire does not apply to them when they are engaged in military operations - including proactive, offensive operations - against any of the aforementioned groups.

So basically this has been an extremely convoluted way of saying that Turkey will immediately cease its attacks on the YPG and the QSD as they move to liberate the area between Azaz and the Euphrates River.

The UN's Special Envoy for Syria - Staffan de Mistura - has already recommended that the international community takes military action under Chapter 7 if Turkey is unable to comply with its obligations.

15:50 on 27/2/16 (UK date).