The agreement was announced on Saturday by US Secretary of State John Kerry who said he had reached the deal with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that seeks ceasefire all over Syria.
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The truce, announced after marathon talks by the Russian and United States foreign ministers, has been billed as the best chance yet to end Syria’s five-year civil war estimated to have killed more than 290,000 people. Pro-regime forces reimposed a devastating siege on Aleppo’s eastern districts last week in a major blow to the rebels.
Syrian rebel factions will issue a statement welcoming the U.S.
The complex and partly secret truce had little if any impact in or near war-ravaged Aleppo, as fighting raged and fatalities mounted Saturday. “They will announce they are opposed to the U.S”.
Men inspect a damaged site after double airstrikes on the rebel held Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 27, 2016.
A cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russian Federation is set to begin at sunset on Monday in Syria amid mixed messages of commitment from various rebel factions but with verbal backing by President Bashar Assad’s. And after those strikes get underway, the agreement then calls for the Syrian air force to cease all strikes against areas held by opposition forces.
The United Nations said on Friday the Syrian government had effectively stopped aid convoys this month and the besieged city of Aleppo was close to running out of fuel, making a successful truce even more urgent. “It will only serve to reinforce the regime and surround the revolution militarily”.
Captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razak, military spokesman for the rebel Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades, said the deal would only give the Syrian army an chance to gather forces and pour more Iranian-backed militias into the main battles raging in Aleppo.
Russian Federation wants to see Syria’s Assad stay in power, while moderate opposition forces and Turkey insist no transition deal can allow him to retain power for any period of time.
Previous peace agreements have crumbled in a matter of weeks – and in the past, the U.S. has accused Bashar al Assad and his allies of attacking opposition groups and civilians when ceasefires were meant to be in place.
Syria’s five-year civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 11 million – half the country’s prewar population – causing a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe and inspiring jihadist attacks around the world.
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“Out of all this complexity is emerging now a simple choice between war and peace, between human agony and humanitarian relief, between the continued disintegration of an ancient society and the rebirth of a united and modern nation”, Kerry told reporters before flying back home.
