Ceasefire Hope For Syria's Hungry Children

On a sunny May afternoon the village of Kawkab in Syria's Hama province resembled a scene from George Orwell's 1984.

Old and young were standing with portraits of President Assad and Syrian flags. They were chanting in unison: "Allah, Bashar al Assad and Syria forever."

Droves of international media were invited to the village to witness the signing of a local ceasefire agreement, and the pro-government demonstration.

The deal was signed between Kawkab's 'Sheikh' and the Syrian government.

"It took many months to get the warring sides to the negotiating table. Finally, it has come to fruition," said General Igor Konashenkov, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson.

In total, 91 towns and villages signed local ceasefire agreements with the Syrian government; Kawkab is the latest.

According to the Russian defence ministry, 7,000 fighters gave up weapons as a result of this effort.

Local people were desperate to get in the queue for bread given out from military trucks, adorned with Russian and Syrian flags.

One boy was in tears and when Sky News asked why was he crying, his mother replied that it was because they had nothing to eat.

For many residents it was the first opportunity to see what has happened to their homes.

For years there was heavy fighting between al Nusra and government forces. Many locals didn't have homes to return to due to the shelling.

According to locals, two years ago the al Nusra and Ahrar Asham militant groups started operating in the area. Some joined the fighters, others had to flee and live in the refugee camp in the nearby Suran.

"All we want to do is to come back to our land, to herd the sheep, grow olives and peanuts here. It makes me so sad that I still can't go back", said Aboud, 68.

Aboud's native village is only 10 kilometres away but is still under the control of militant groups.

Even while getting much needed food and medical aid there was still a feeling of unease among the population.

Aleppo, which is only 120 kilometres away to the north, is heavily bombarded from the air. All sides deny it is their aviation carrying out strikes on hospitals and residential areas there.

The perimeter of the main square in Kawkab was guarded by Russian special forces, so called "polite people", as they were nicknamed after the Crimea annexation.

The government artillery positions are situated just a couple of kilometres away from Kawkab. Militant groups control the area in the north-east, only 10 kilometres away.

Some locals said they will stay in the village as it is their home. Others were worried that fighting might resume and went back to the refugee camp.

When food trucks and the media were gone, the main square of Kawkab became deserted again.