All eyes are on the long, dusty route after the ceasefire negotiated between Russian Federation and the United States was expected to include delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to Aleppo.
Advertisement
He said the cease-fire appeared to be holding despite numerous breaches.
The global community’s first goal is to get aid to Aleppo, the scene of Syria’s fiercest fighting in recent months and divided into sectors held by the government and insurgents.
Ban said Wednesday he has been in touch with the Russian government, urging them to exercise influence on the Syrian government to let the trucks in. “And there are some parties to the conflict that are not fully on board”.
Under a deal, which was brokered by the United States and Russian Federation on Friday, the U.S. annd Russian Federation are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days, before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against ISIL and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
Ban said he was in talks with Russian Federation and the United States to turn up the pressure on all sides to guarantee the security of the UN aid convoy.
However, Syrian government forces and rebels had yet to withdraw from a road to be used to deliver aid to Aleppo this morning.
More than half of Syria’s prewar population of 22.4 million have been displaced, including almost 5 million refugees who have fled the country. A cessation of hostilities brokered in February soon collapsed, and fighting intensified, killing scores.
A commander with the Jaish al-Mujahideen rebel brigade demonstrated Wednesday the ambiguity of the opposition’s position on aid and the cease-fire.
“Unless it is part of a humiliating deal”, he said.
Russian Federation is therefore unlikely to help serve the ultimate interests of the Syrian people, which is deposing the despot whose regime has killed more Syrians than any terrorist group.
As Syria’s ceasefire largely holds, residents trapped in Aleppo eagerly await crucial aid supplies after months cut off from the rest of the world. But the aid has been held up by a grueling process requiring dozens of approvals from senior and local Syrian officials.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency says the Turkish Red Crescent on Tuesday distributed meat from animals sacrificed for Eid al-Adha to 4,500 households in Jarablus. They said it will take time to share and analyze the recommended target data and make certain that innocent civilians or allies aren’t hit. The prepared rations, however, include such items as rice, bulgur wheat, salt, sugar and vegetable oil. “And we hope to get that done today”, he said. “The people can not endure much longer without supplies”.
“People are anxiously waiting for food and medical aid to enter Aleppo”, Omar al Arab, an activist based in eastern Aleppo told dpa.
Russia, whose air force helped the Syrian government to blockade opposition-held Aleppo this summer, said on Wednesday it was preparing for the Syrian army and rebel fighters to begin a staged withdrawal from the road.
No access to Castello Road means no aid to areas badly hit in Aleppo.
It calls for the truce to be renewed every 48 hours, and immediate humanitarian aid access, particularly to civilians living under siege.
The cease-fire is also meant to facilitate joint efforts between the United States and Russian Federation to target terrorists in Syria.
Russia’s intervention a year ago in support of Assad has given it critical leverage over the diplomatic process.
Mohab Abdelsalam, a rebel fighter with the Aleppo Revolutionaries, said his group has not been in touch with the United Nations regarding the aid convoy’s safety. We don’t take orders from hypocritical tyrants. The alternative is to allow us to go from 450,000 people who’ve been slaughtered to how many thousands more?
Advertisement
What the Syrian rebels think of the ceasefire: Rebel groups fighting to topple Mr.al-Assad issued a joint statement listing deep reservations with the agreement they described as unjust, echoing concerns outlined in a letter to the United States on Sunday. “Yesterday Russia’s air force bombed an area north of Palmyra where IS militants are concentrated”, said senior military official Viktor Poznikhir, cited by Russian agencies.
