“There was agreement that as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding, and violence is significantly lower in comparison with previous days and weeks”, he said of a read-out of a telephone call between the two men.
Advertisement
Aside from the reducing the bloodshed, the “second dividend” of the US-Russia deal is humanitarian access. Aleppo-based activist Baraa al-Halaby said no aid deliveries, which are also part of the cease-fire deal, had yet entered the contested area.
IS is not included in the U.S. -Russia-brokered truce that went into effect this week. “They are still there”, he said.
A war monitor and a senior rebel official said this is a step that must happen for the delivery to take place under a U.S.
The first full day of the cease-fire passed Tuesday with no notable violations, but an atmosphere of deep mistrust prevailed in Syria’s war-ravaged areas, residents and monitoring groups reported.
“Incidents are still far below those observed before September 12”. These divisions boiled to the surface previously over President Barack Obama’s failure to use greater military might to enforce his demand that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad relinquish power and, in particular, in September 2013, after the United States backed down from its threat to carry out a “shock-and-awe” assault on Damascus over the trumped up charge that the Assad government had used chemical weapons against civilians.
“It is hard to accept a continued intermingling and cooperation between the opposition and an organization which is al-Qaeda in Syria”, a senior U.S. official said late Tuesday, adding that the rebel movement would have to “distance itself” if the ceasefire holds.
Russian warplanes Tuesday killed about 250 IS militants on the outskirts of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, Gen. Poznikhir told a news conference.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday that he hopes the Security Council will adopt a resolution endorsing the agreement at next week’s high-level General Assembly meeting, which draws leaders from around the globe. Because the Islamist groups tend to have more arms and money than other rebel groups, partnering with them on the battlefield became a matter of survival for the moderate rebels. So far, FSA commanders have refused to do so – and that is clearly starting to worry America’s allies as the prospect of joint U.S.
It also reported shelling near the Castello road, northwest of the city, and the Ramouseh area in the south – both main arteries leading to Aleppo.
De Mistura says Thursday the Syrian government has not provided needed “facilitation letters” to allow for the start of United Nations -led aid convoys expected under the new cease-fire agreement.
Egeland said aid convoys could reach besieged zones such as Moadamiyah, al Waer and Douma by the end of the week if the permits were issued, which would be simple to do.
Russian Federation said its troops had been deployed on the key Castello Road running from Turkey into Aleppo that is to become a demilitarised zone under the deal.
Getting aid to civilians in besieged areas like the rebel-held eastern half of the city of Aleppo is a priority.
By evening Wednesday, there were no reports of major violations of the agreement, which calls on all parties to hold their fire, allowing only for airstrikes against the extremist Islamic State group and al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The Syrian government’s air force would also be grounded.
Other U.S. officials publicly sought to play down those concerns this week, with one Obama administration official saying: “While we may share information on that threat, Russian Federation remains fully responsible for the conduct of its operations”.
“We have to see how this goes first of all. see what direction it goes. whether it actually pans out or not, I don’t know”, Votel said.
Advertisement
USA intelligence officials also have voiced concerns about sharing precise information on the positions of US -backed rebel forces, given that Russian Federation has targeted them in the past.
