Staffan de Mistura, the UN’s special envoy to Syria, said earlier that he had not yet had “facilitation letters” from the Syrian government that would allow the convoy to pass through army checkpoints.
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“The truce, as we have warned, and we told the (U.S.) State Department – will not hold out”, a senior rebel official in Aleppo said, pointing to the continued presence of a United Nations aid convoy at the Turkish border awaiting permission to enter.
On Friday, a coalition of at least 100 Syrian and global NGOs released a statement urging the United States and Russian Federation to lean on the government and Syrian opposition to allow aid through during the rare period of calm.
A respite in hostilities will also allow time for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the besieged city of Aleppo and areas in the Idlib Province.
“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.
“On that one, we have a problem”, he added. “It is particularly regrettable …”
“It goes without saying that Russia continues using its influence in order to ensure the implementation of the ceasefire agreements and it hopes that our U.S. counterparts will be doing the same”, he said in remarks carried by the Russian news agency TASS.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the ceasefire was “by and large” holding steady despite complaints of violations, but urged the United States to do more to influence the rebel groups it supports in Syria.
Jan Egeland, the top humanitarian aid official in de Mistura’s office, said the United Nations could reach its target areas in the country within a “few days” once it received authorization. The U.N. has described the situation as “dire”.
‘Can well-fed grown men please stop putting political, bureaucratic and procedural road blocks for fearless humanitarian workers that are willing to go to serve women, children, wounded civilians in besieged and crossfire areas?’ Egeland said. “It’s not clear who they are”, he said, but added that “I think we can resolve this issue very quickly”.
Syrian troops withdrew from a main road leading to the besieged rebel-held part of the city for hours before returning to their positions later Friday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Observatory on Thursday reported the first three deaths since the cease-fire went into effect.
Save the Children also has aid ready to enter Aleppo.
Earlier on Thursday, activists said the cease-fire was still holding despite some violations.
The United States relayed its “regret” through the Russian government for what it described as the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces in the strike, a senior Obama administration official said in an emailed statement.
In a video call from Castello Road, Russian Col. Sergei Kapitsyn said the rebels fired on government positions overnight, wounding two Syrian soldiers and prompting the Syrian army to move their weapons back to the road to prevent the rebels from advancing.
Russian Federation wants the U.N. Security Council to endorse the Syrian cease-fire agreement that it brokered together with the United States.
“Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident”, the ministry said on Sunday.
The opposition reported 29 violations by government forces Wednesday, including shelling, air raids and heavy machine gunfire.
That casualty toll is according to Deir el-Zour 24, an activist collective.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was unclear whose warplanes attacked Al-Mayadin. It wasn’t known who carried out the attack.
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The Australian Department of Defence has offered its condolences to the families of Syrian soldiers killed or wounded in a USA -led bombing campaign on Saturday, in which Australia participated and Russian Federation said hit Syrian military personnel and vehicles.
