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Syrian Military Declares End To Cease-Fire; Aid Convoy Comes Under Attack
The Observatory said aid trucks making a routine delivery organised by an global organisation to an area west of Aleppo city were hit near the town of Urm al-Kubra.
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UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O’Brien said he was “pained and disappointed” that the convoy had yet to cross into Syria from Turkey.
The row erupted amid mounting reports of ceasefire violations – including air strikes by Syrian government forces on rebel held areas of the beleaguered city of Aleppo.
In Washington, the State Department said Monday that the U.S.is willing to extend the cease-fire “while working to strengthen it and expand deliveries of assistance”.
The uncertainty cast doubts on a U.S.
Despite the US-Russia deal reached on September 9, fragile nationwide ceasefire in Syria in force since September 12 is undermined by numerous outbreaks of hostilities.
“It’s really bad”, he said.
Senior Syrian opposition figure George Sabra told the Associated Press that the cease-fire was now “clinically dead” due to repeated violations on both sides.
There was more than a note of exasperation in US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks Sunday when he demanded the global community show it “can end this seemingly endless sense of deterioration and chaos” in Syria.
“Considering that the conditions of the ceasefire are not being respected by the rebels, we consider it pointless for the Syrian government forces to respect it unilaterally”, Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy said.
But convoys to rebel-held districts of Aleppo were still stuck on the border with Turkey.
Aid was delivered to the besieged town of Talbiseh in Homs province later on Monday, the Red Cross said, for the first time since July.
They blamed rebel groups for violating the agreement which came into effect last week, saying they used the truce to mobilise and arm themselves, while attacking government-held areas. The deal is part of a multi-stage plan meant to begin with the truce and allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.
The location of the strike is in an area the coalition has struck in the past, and coalition members in the Combined Air Operations Center had earlier informed Russian counterparts of the upcoming strike.
It came under massive strain on Saturday when a US-led coalition strike hit a Syrian army post near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where government forces are battling the Islamic State jihadist group.
The U.N. aid chief on Monday deplored the fact that seven days later, the worldwide body had still not received the permissions and safety guarantees from the Syrian government for its aid convoy to enter the country.
Russian Federation also accused the rebels of violating the deal. The Russians doggedly support Bashar al Assad, not because they think he’s the best President for Syria but because they fear a complete meltdown of the state if he were to be removed.
Humanitarian aid was supposed to flow to Aleppo and five other areas in Syria during that time.
An official with the Syrian Red Crescent confirmed aid vehicles operated by the group had been targeted by air strikes as warplanes resumed bombings in Aleppo province.
An MoD spokesman said: “We can confirm that the United Kingdom participated in the coalition air strike south of Dayr az Zawr on Saturday, and we are fully co-operating with the coalition investigation”.
Washington hopes it will lead to talks on ending a war that has splintered Syria, uprooted 11 million people and created the world’s worst refugee crisis.
The State Department said that it was ready to work with Russian Federation to strengthen the terms of the agreement and expand deliveries of humanitarian aid.
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The U.S. State Department reiterated in a statement on Monday that both steps were necessary before the U.S. and Russian Federation would look into establishing a Joint Implementation Center to help with counter-Islamic State operations in Syria.