A cease-fire brokered by the USA and Russian Federation brought calm across much of Syria on Tuesday as residents of the northern city of Aleppo awaited an expected aid shipment.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said 20 truckloads were ready and were supposed to be delivered on Wednesday.
A key focus is rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo city where around 250,000 civilians are besieged by government forces.
If the ceasefire holds for seven days, Russian Federation and the USA will establish a joint center to coordinate airstrikes against terrorist groups in Syria. “I believe they want to obstruct the main demand of the Syrian state and leadership, and of Russian Federation – the separation of Nusra from the rest of the organisations, and it appears that this will not happen”, the source said.
He said: “It’s crucially important (that) the necessary security arrangements should be given so that they can be allowed to cross the lines”.
“You’re talking about not only the Syrian government, but also dozens of armed groups across the country – some of whom may have an agenda of their own”, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city, is in desperate need of humanitarian aid after weeks of heavy fighting.
The agreement was criticised for its lack of monitoring processes, and for not making provisions for the estimated 200,000 other people in Syria now living under siege conditions.
“People are anxiously waiting for food and medical aid to enter Aleppo”, Omar al Arab, an activist based in eastern Aleppo told dpa. Aid convoys, however, have found themselves stalled at the Turkish border, with no insight on when they’ll advance. “They are still there”, he said.
However, the Syrian government has not provided needed “facilitation letters”, or permits, to allow for the start of the convoys, de Mistura said.
The Russian defence ministry also stressed that the Syrian army was ready to pull troops back from the Castello Road in Aleppo to ensure the safe movement of humanitarian convoys.
Rebels say Damascus has carried out numerous violations.
“The truce is good, but it’s not enough”.
It therefore said it found “confusing” recent comments by USA officials that expressed doubts about whether Russian Federation would be able to deliver.
“The situation is still bad as the markets are empty”, the 55-year-old told AFP.
The deal calls for the truce to be renewed every 48 hours, and for Washington and Moscow to begin unprecedented joint targeting of jihadists like ISIS and former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front if the ceasefire lasts a week.
The two diplomats also agreed to extend the current truce by another 48 hours, Toner said. He said the government had agreed September 6 – before the cease-fire deal was inked – to allow aid into five areas, but the authorizations still haven’t come.
“It is hard to accept a continued intermingling and cooperation between the opposition and an organization which is al-Qaeda in Syria”, a senior USA official said late Tuesday, adding that the rebel movement would have to “distance itself” if the ceasefire holds.
Russian Federation said it had targeted jihadists in Palmyra on Tuesday, in the first such strikes during the truce.
And there have been violations, with both sides accusing the other of continuing to fight. “It is very positive”, said director Rami Abdel Rahman.
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But there remains deep skepticism about whether the truce will hold. On Tuesday Jabhat Fateh al-Sham threatened to form an alliance with US -backed and other rebel factions, which would vastly complicate Russian and USA efforts to target the group without also endangering those covered by the agreement.
