Military planes belonging to the Syrian regime and Russian Federation, which began its military operations there against ISIS and other militant groups last September, regularly target rebel-held areas.
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Some observers said they believe the ceasefire’s efficacy will only become clearer as Tuesday progresses.
Some air attacks and shelling were reported in the first hours of the truce on Monday evening, but that appeared to die down and the Observatory, which monitors the war, said it had not recorded a single civilian death from fighting in the 15 hours since the ceasefire came into effect at 7 pm (1600 GMT).
Lt. Col. Sergei Kopytsin, a representative of the Hmeymim-based Russian reconciliation center for Syria, said in the same conference call that “moderate opposition” militants violated ceasefire in Aleppo five times during the night, killing six and wounding 10 people. “As I speak, that has not been the case”, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Reuters.
Had that US backed rebel brigade leader been more candid, he might have said he doesn’t trust the USA either.
The truce, brokered by the US and Russian Federation and which came into effect at sunset Monday, is being observed in hotspots of conflict across the country, the United Kingdom -based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday said while the start of the ceasefire looked good, “it is far too early to draw any definitive conclusions”.
Aid agencies stand poised to distribute much-needed assistance but say they are awaiting guarantees of security from all parties before beginning their deliveries to hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians.
The Syrian civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced more than 5 million to flee the country, spawning an global refugee crisis.
Hours before the truce took effect, an emboldened Assad vowed to take back all of Syria.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry says it refuses any entry of humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo, a priority for aid agencies, unless it is coordinated through the Syrian government and United Nations – especially aid coming from Turkey, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Equally, Syrian opposition groups will find themselves compelled to disengage from jihadist group Jabhat-Fateh al-Sham, the rebranded former Al-Qaeda affiliate previously known as Al-Nusra.
For the moment, “calm is prevailing in all areas”, said Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist in the southern province of Daraa – where the 2011 uprising began. The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, stressed however, that no one had been killed or wounded since the truce took effect.
The sources said that the trucks left around noon (0900GMT) Tuesday from the Cilvegozu border gate.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that Moscow wants the deal, which launched a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria, to be made public but that the USA opposes such a move.
Russian Federation and the USA unveiled the latest effort to secure a cease-fire in Syria after talks in Geneva on Friday.
Lavrov said Moscow “has nothing to hide” and wants the UN.Security Council to formally approve the Syria truce deal as well.
East Aleppo’s estimated 250,000 people have not received aid since early July, when regime forces cut off the last supply route.
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In other developments, the Syrian military announced that it had allegedly shot down two Israeli aircraft – a warplane and a drone – near the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, which used to be Syrian territory until 1981. The Israeli military quickly denied the claim.
