DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria's state news agency says the military has extended its cease-fire around Damascus for another 24 hours. Thousands of rebels are fighting pro-government forces in the region.

The Sunday report said that President Bashar Assad's army would extend the brief cessation of hostilities that was declared Friday around the capital and the coastal Latakia region, following two weeks of worsening fighting around the country.

The truce excludes Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a major battleground between rebels and government forces. Nearly 250 civilians have died in fighting there over the past 10 days, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Still, the Observatory says relative calm was prevailing Sunday over Aleppo.