The cease-fire has brought new protests. Demonstrators shouted slogans against the government on Friday in the rebel-controlled Sukkari neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Karam Al-Masri/Agence France-Presse – Getty Images

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United Nations mediator, Staffan de Mistura, was satisfied enough with the results to convene a new round of indirect peace talks starting Monday, which opposition groups have agreed to attend. That is the day before the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which morphed into civil war and then a regional and global proxy war.

The deal, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is in many ways flawed and problematic, and dozens of airstrikes and bombardments still occur daily. But the death toll, and the level of fear, have sharply decreased, and Mr. de Mistura said last week that the cease-fire, originally planned for two weeks, could continue indefinitely.

Deliveries of humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of Syrians living under siege have increased, though there is nowhere near the continuous, unimpeded access that is required under international law and called for by United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Disagreements over which areas are fair game for airstrikes under the deal’s terms remain fierce, and scores of violations have been reported

One problem is the lack of an authoritative, independent monitor. Instead, there are separate Russian and American channels to report violations. Callers to the American hotline, at least at first, found some operators did not understand much Arabic; when one tried to report an airstrike on a town called Harbinafsah, the location was recorded as “Harb Bebsi” — Pepsi War.

Still, even a temporary, fragile pause is significant in a war that has killed several hundred thousand Syrians and driven half of the country’s population from its homes. And the relative quiet has opened the door to new, unpredictable dynamics, bringing anti-government protesters back into the streets in rebel-held areas and exposing a hint of new Russian pressure on Mr. Assad.

But the past two weeks have brought costs and benefits, some concrete, some intangible, to all of the combatants. One of the main concerns of beleaguered opposition forces was that the government would continue to take territory, attacking all insurgents while claiming it was battling only the two groups excluded from the truce: the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s Syria affiliate.

Changes in Control Since Russia Began Its Airstrikes ISIS Government Rebel Kurdish During the truce, government forces have advanced in northern Latakia and southern Aleppo provinces. Qamishli Turkey Kurdish control Kobani Hasaka Manbij Kurdish-led militias backed by the United States have gained ground against the Islamic State in recent weeks. Al Bab Aleppo Isis control Idlib Raqqa Jisr al-Shoughour Rebel control Ath Thawra Euphrates River Maarat al-Noaman Latakia Airstrikes by Russia and the U.S.-led coalition forces continued in Islamic State areas during the truce, especially around Deir al-Zour. Jabla Deir al-Zour Hama Government Control Syria Mayadin Salamiyah Tartus Homs Palmyra Abu Kamal lebanon Sparsely populated areas Damascus Iraq Nawa Suwayda Jordan Dar‘a Turkey During the truce, government forces have advanced in Latakia and Aleppo Provinces. Qamishli Kurdish control Kobani Hasaka Manbij Aleppo Isis control Raqqa Idlib Rebel control Euphrates River Latakia Syria Deir al-Zour Government Control Iraq Tartus Homs Palmyra Abu Kamal lebanon Sparsely populated areas Airstrikes by Russia and the U.S.-led coalition forces continued in Islamic State areas during the truce, especially around Deir al-Zour. Damascus Nawa Sweida Jordan During the truce, government forces have advanced in Latakia and Aleppo Provinces. Turkey Kurdish Isis Aleppo Raqqa Jisr al-Shoughour Euphrates River Rebel Latakia Deir al-Zour Government Syria Homs Palmyra Lebanon Sparsely populated areas Damascus Airstrikes by Russia and the U.S.-led coalition forces continued in Islamic State areas during the truce, especially around Deir al-Zour. jordan Turkey Aleppo Raqqa Jisr al-Shoughour Latakia Syria Palmyra Homs Sparsely populated areas Iraq Damascus The New York Times | IHS Conflict Monitor

The government has been the biggest winner, tactically, during the cease-fire

Government forces have advanced in northwestern Syria, especially in the north of Latakia Province, near the Turkish border, and south of the divided city of Aleppo. Those moves widen the safety zone for adjacent government-held areas and, if they continue, could eventually squeeze Idlib Province.

Qamishli Kobani Hasaka Manbij Aleppo Raqqa Idlib Euphrates River Latakia Syria Deir al-Zour Tartus Homs Palmyra Abu Kamal Government gains Sparsely populated areas Government Control Damascus Nawa Suwayda Aleppo Raqqa Idlib Latakia Deir al-Zour Syria Homs Palmyra Government gains Government control Damascus Dara’a Aleppo Raqqa Idlib Latakia Syria Homs Palmyra Government gains Government CONTROL Damascus Dara’a The New York Times | Source: IHS Conflict Monitor

The government and its Russian allies have also been pounding some insurgent areas in the central province of Homs, the southern province of Dara’a and the East Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, the capital.

At the same time, there have been indications of new Russian pressure on the Assad government. Days before the cease-fire started, Mr. Assad dismissed it and declared that he was on the road to taking back all of Syria. But Russia’s envoy to the United Nations let it be known publicly that those remarks “do not chime” with Russia’s efforts. He told the Russian business newspaper Kommersant that Syria’s leaders should “take account” of Russia’s military help and follow its lead if they wanted to escape “with their dignity intact.”

Also during the truce, the Russians flew several dozen members of officially tolerated opposition groups from Damascus to Latakia Province. There, according to one participant, a Russian general spoke to them about establishing a new constitution and a political solution to the crisis “as soon as possible.”

The government gains have eroded control in some areas held by insurgent groups

Turkey Qamishli Kobani Hasaka Manbij Aleppo Idlib Raqqa Rebel control Euphrates River Latakia Syria Deir al-Zour Iraq Tartus Homs Palmyra Abu Kamal lebanon Sparsely populated areas Damascus Nawa Suwayda Jordan Aleppo Rebel losses Raqqa Idlib Rebel control Latakia Deir al-Zour Rebel gains Syria Homs Palmyra Damascus Dara’a Rebel losses Aleppo Raqqa Idlib Rebel CONTROL Latakia Rebel GAINS Syria Homs Palmyra Damascus Dara’a The New York Times | Source: IHS Conflict Monitor

But these insurgents have also benefited from the relative calm after years of bombing. People are venturing outside more, or simply enjoying the absence of the sound of shelling. Opposition activists who have spent years filming attacks joked that they were bored. One said he found himself listening to his favorite singer, Fayrouz, for the first time in five years.

The truce has created a political conundrum for the insurgent groups that do not belong to the Islamic State, a broad array that includes the Nusra Front, Islamists, and relatively secular groups led by army defectors and backed by the United States and its allies.

They have joined in tactical alliances to different degrees, and Mr. Assad and his allies argue that that makes all rebels legitimate targets. Russia has challenged Washington to provide the coordinates for the groups it supports to prevent them from being attacked, but so far, the figures have not been offered.

And opposition demonstrations have erupted in numbers not seen in years because of fears of bombardment.

In the Idlib town of Maarat al-Noaman, where airstrikes hit two hospitals in a single day last month, protesters gathered on March 4. Manaf, an anti-government activist, said he had chanted the same chants as he had in the early days of the uprising, and marched on the same streets, now full of rubble, “a very strange feeling.”

But in another Idlib town, Saraqeb, Nusra fighters disrupted a demonstration, beating participants, according to Fouad Basbous, an opposition journalist there. One video showed Nusra fighters and supporters chanting, “Down with secularism, down with democracy,” and chastising the protesters: “Whoever wants jihad, go to the fronts.”

Further complicating the picture are Syria’s Kurds, an ethnic minority whose fighters have carved out semiautonomous areas in the northeast and northwest

Turkey Qamishli Kurdish control Kobani Hasaka Manbij Aleppo Isis control Idlib Raqqa Euphrates River Latakia Syria Deir al-Zour Iraq Tartus Homs Palmyra Abu Kamal lebanon Sparsely populated areas Damascus Nawa Suwayda Jordan Hasaka Kurdish control Aleppo Kurdish gains Raqqa Idlib Latakia Deir al-Zour Syria Homs Palmyra Damascus Dara’a Kurdish control Hasaka Aleppo Raqqa Idlib Kurdish gains Latakia Syria Palmyra Homs Damascus Dara’a The New York Times | Source: IHS Conflict Monitor

The United States backs the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition mainly made up of Kurdish militias, as its best ally against the Islamic State on the ground.

The coalition has gained ground in recent weeks against the Islamic State in the northeast as well as other insurgents, effectively helping the government cut off their main supply route in Aleppo Province. That has led to new tensions and fighting, with the rebels accusing the Kurds of working with the government and Russia.

Some clashes have even pitted Washington-backed groups against each other. In one of the worst clashes during the partial truce, insurgents in Aleppo have repeatedly been shelling the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maksood, causing numerous civilian casualties.

Opposition leaders castigated the Syrian Democratic Forces for aiding the government, and at the same time, some opposition activists condemned the attacks on Sheikh Maksood as indiscriminate.

The Islamic State is being pounded by airstrikes, and has lost more territory than it has gained

Turkey Qamishli Kobani Hasaka Manbij Aleppo Isis control Idlib Raqqa Euphrates River Latakia Syria Deir al-Zour Iraq Tartus Homs Palmyra Abu Kamal lebanon Sparsely populated areas Damascus Nawa Suwayda Jordan Hasaka Aleppo Isis losses Raqqa Idlib Latakia Syria Deir al-Zour Isis control Homs Palmyra Isis GAINs Damascus Dara’a Hasaka Aleppo losses Raqqa Idlib Deir al-Zour Latakia Syria ISIS CONTROL Homs Palmyra GAINS Damascus Dara’a The New York Times | Source: IHS Conflict Monitor

The American-led coalition and the Russian-Syrian alliance have continued to bomb the Islamic State, which has lost territory in the eastern province of Hasaka to the Syrian Democratic Forces. Russian and Syrian warplanes have been intensely hitting Al Bab, an Islamic State-held town in eastern Aleppo Province.

Russia has also struck Palmyra, the Islamic State-held city that was home to Syria’s most magnificent ancient ruins. Videos show smoke rising over the ruins, and bombs appearing to hit near the medieval citadel, as well as residential areas. Government troops have been advancing toward the city.

There is no clear count of violations, though various parties are trying to keep track

After years in which the daily death toll often topped 100, the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee reported 214 episodes that killed 115 people as of Wednesday. Russia counted 66 violations in the cease-fire’s first week. Here is a sample from scores of episodes documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:

March 4 | Government shelling in Khan Sheikhoon, Idlib Province, killed at least four people, including two women and a baby girl.

March 4 | Insurgents attacked the Sheikh Maksood neighborhood in Aleppo with more than 30 makeshift rockets and explosive cylinders, and they shelled a Kurdish enclave, Afreen, in northwestern Aleppo Province.

March 2 | Insurgent snipers attacked the besieged towns of Fouaa and Kfarya, killing at least one person and injuring several.

March 1 | Government surface-to-surface missiles killed at least three people in Zo’ainieh, on the border of Idlib and Latakia Provinces, and two people, including a child, in Mastoomeh, south of the city of Idlib.

Feb. 28 | Government helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the villages of Kinda and Najieh, while airstrikes hit the nearby town of Jisr al-Shoughour, a crucial objective for the government in Idlib Province. Two women, one of them pregnant, were killed.

Feb. 28 | Islamist insurgents shelled a village near Fouaa.

Men unloaded aid boxes from a Red Crescent convoy in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Monday. Bassam Khabieh/Reuters

The immediate goal of the partial truce was to bring food and medicine to besieged areas, where up to one million people have been trapped

United Nations officials say aid has reached 10 of 18 such places during the cease-fire, though that does not mean that everyone there gets enough to eat, even for a short time. Some areas have been shut off from food and medical aid for months, or even years in the case of the Damascus suburb of Daraya.

Government security forces continue to systematically remove crucial medical supplies from convoys. But the government did allow delivery of fuel to a water-pumping facility in eastern Aleppo that is controlled by the Nusra Front. The facility then began pumping water — long shut off — to both the government and insurgent sides of the divided city.

Syrians remain unsure whether to be hopeful or fearful. For the first time, people see the possibility of progress, yet if the truce collapses, they expect worse fighting.

Hamoudeh, a former rebel fighter who spent months trapped in the besieged town of Zabadani, near the Lebanese border, said he could not join the renewed demonstrations because he had managed to flee to a government-held town. But he has lost the heart for it anyway.

Hamoudeh escaped the siege with his elderly father, who was arrested as he tried to cross into Lebanon. Officials, he said, were asking for $10,000 to free his father, and a cousin had also been detained and beaten.

“This is all because of the freedom I was asking for,” he said.