Doug Stanglin

USA TODAY

A sudden power outage hit Syria on Thursday, the Syrian Ministry of Electricity said, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

Maintenance teams were working to identify the cause of the blackout and quickly restore electricity, an unidentified source at the ministry told the agency.

Internet service was restored following a partial outage to all provinces, the Syrian Telecommunications Company said, according to SANA.

Electricity blackouts have occurred frequently during the 5-year-old conflict engulfing Syria, but it is rare for the entire country to be affected at the same time, the Associated Press reports. Previous blackouts were blamed on rebel attacks targeting the electricity network.

A shaky cease-fire between government and rebel forces that was brokered by the U.S. and Russia went into effect over the weekend. The agreement excludes the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.