“That is what makes a difference for the people, apart from seeing no more bombs or mortar shelling taking place”, he said of the aid deliveries that are supposed to be part of the truce deal.
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Russian Federation says Syria’s Government has withdrawn from a key road leading into the city of Aleppo, but senior United Nations officials say the Syrians are holding up aid deliveries to areas where civilian have been living under siege for years.
Drivers will be blocked from reaching affected areas if the proper permits are not presented, he said.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry has said aid can only be delivered to Aleppo if it is coordinated through the government and United Nations – especially aid coming from Turkey.
“The Syrian armed forces are fulfilling their obligations and have started a gradual withdrawal of military hardware and all personnel from the Castello Road, which will allow for the unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid to the eastern part of Aleppo”, senior Russian officer Vladimir Savchenko said in a televised briefing. The government said that all deliveries must be conducted in coordination with them. USA officials said Carter hasn’t done that yet, and he likely won’t until the required cease-fire and humanitarian aid conditions are met for the seven days.
De Mistura said a contested highway into eastern Aleppo, Castello Road, had “special status” under the ceasefire agreement, meaning its use would need to be negotiated separately for the delivery of aid. It also said three shells were fired at the government-held southern village of Hadar.
Russian Federation and American officials have said the agreement is meant to set the stage for peace talks to resolve the Syrian war, now in its sixth year.
Activists reported the cease-fire was holding despite some violations, though the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group warned the rate of violations had escalated and three civilians were killed, including two children.
The ceasefire deal went into effect Monday and calls for a halt to the violence between the Syrian regime and rebel forces, but it does not cover militant groups considered terrorists, such as ISIS and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al Nusra Front.
Russia’s military says its troops and vehicles have started to withdraw.
Nevertheless, the ceasefire appears to have offered a respite in the civil war that’s killed an estimated 430,000 people since 2011 and touched off an worldwide refugee crisis. “These are days which we should have used for convoys to move with the permits to go because there is no fighting”. The dead include 700 civilians, among them 160 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
It was not immediately clear when the aid convoy would enter besieged rebel-held neighborhoods east of Aleppo.
“This is one of the most serious violations of the cease-fire”, al-Shami said via Skype.
Aleppo-based activist Bahaa al-Halaby denies that government troops withdrew from Castello road.
“The Russian Federation is agreeing with us”, he said.
The rebels themselves have voiced strong opposition to letting in aid via the Castello route, fearing this would end up favoring the government and cementing its control over the road, allowing Assad’s forces to reintroduce a siege in the future.
SANA also reported violations in the northwestern village of Foua, saying insurgent sniper fire wounded a Syrian boy.
At least 23 people died in airstrikes in Syria on Thursday.
The agreement calls for a seven-day temporary cease-fire, after which the USA and Russian militaries would set up a “Joint Implementation Center” and begin cooperating in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al Qaeda militants.
It’s the first time the United States and Russian Federation have forged an agreement that “paves the way for humanitarian aid access” and a no-military zone for people to use the highway, the activist said. France, a member of the US -led coalition against DAESH, is a key backer of rebels fighting Assad’s forces and has previously voiced its concerns over how Washington negotiates with Moscow.
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The ceasefire deal calls for the truce to be renewed every 48 hours, and for Washington and Moscow to begin unprecedented joint targeting of jihadists if it lasts a week.
