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United Nations has ‘problem’ getting aid to Syria with lack of government cooperation

The rebel-held part of Aleppo and two villages outside the city came under shelling on Tuesday from government forces, without causing any casualties, according to the United Kingdom -based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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There are also concerns that sharing targeting data with Russian Federation could reveal too much information about USA tactics and intelligence gathering methods, not just in Syria but elsewhere.

“Source on the ground, which do matter, including inside Aleppo city, said the situation has dramatically improved with no air strikes”, he added.

Syrian state media reported almost two dozen violations by insurgents, mostly mortar attacks and sniper shots. He said he has also been in touch with the Americans to get Syrian armed groups to cooperate.

A Syrian opposition politician said Wednesday that he doubted the deal would last longer than a truce negotiated in February that temporarily curtailed violence before falling apart.

He said aid for rebel-held eastern Aleppo is a top priority, and that a key concern about the overall cease-fire is whether sporadic “incidents” snowball to threaten the deal.

“We’ve seen violations by both sides”.

Russian Federation is a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States supports some of the rebel groups fighting to topple him.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said no deaths from fighting had been reported in the first 48 hours of the truce.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting in Moscow, Russia on March 24, 2016.

The Russian defence ministry insisted that, from the very beginning of the truce, Moscow had been fulfilling its obligations, which includes ensuring that the Syrian air force does not bomb areas held by mainstream rebel forces and setting up checkpoints in divided second city of Aleppo.

A second United Nations official said that deliveries to Aleppo had to cross numerous checkpoints operated by both opposition and government forces, and there was still uncertainty over whether the aid could get through safely.

“The UN convoy from Turkey to eastern Aleppo is still in customs area on the border this morning because of lack of de facto assurances of safe passage by all parties”, Laerke said.

Aid convoys moved into the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu, waiting authorization from the Syrian government to enter the country and deliver supplies to eastern Aleppo.

The Russia-US deal on reducing violence in Syria is potentially a game-changer on Syrrian settlement, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Thursday.

De Mistura said some people had used the argument that offices were closed during this week’s Muslim Eid holiday, and the Syrian government had been “a little bit slow” during Eid, but he would not accept that as a valid reason. He vowed again on Monday to win back the entire country, which has been splintered into areas controlled by the state, an array of rebel factions, the Islamic State group, and the Kurdish YPG militia.

If the cease-fire holds for seven days and humanitarian deliveries continue, the US would begin discussions with Russian Federation on the establishment of a joint implementation cell.

Earlier on Thursday, activists said the cease-fire was still holding despite some violations. The Observatory said the airstrike killed seven people.

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The opposition has yet to officially sign on, and hours before the ceasefire began Assad said he was committed to recovering all of Syria.

The UN has urged Syria to'immediately allow humanitarian aid into the country after a fragile ceasefire was extended