In the wake of the Syrian military declaration, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged that the first stage of the truce – which called for a week of calm and the delivery of humanitarian aid to several besieged communities – had never really come to fruition.
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The Syrian opposition reported Monday 254 violations by government troops and their allies since the truce started.
But he said some aid was finally moving.
He told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly that American officials were “meeting now with the Russians in Geneva”. -Russian center to coordinate strikes on the Islamic State militants and al-Qaida-linked groups had the truce and unfettered aid deliveries in Syria been protected for seven straight days.
In a call with reporters on Monday night, two senior Obama administration officials put the blame for the attack on the aid convoys on Russian Federation even if it had no direct role, saying Moscow’s job as part of the deal was to ensure Syrian compliance.
Syrian military claimed armed groups had taken advantage of the truce to mobilise and arm themselves while attacking government-held areas. The military command stated the ceasefire was meant to be a real chance to stop the bloodshed, but the armed terrorist groups did not take it seriously.
Despite the statement by the Syrian Army, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he is not losing hope for the ceasefire to hold, AP reports.
The convoy was meant to deliver aid for 78,000 people in rebel-held areas near Aleppo.
“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”, said Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy.
He said the airstrikes on Aleppo province, including the ones that hit the convoy, were part of some 40 air raids that lasted about two hours – starting at about 7:30 p.m. Monday – and that “it was mostly Russian warplanes who carried out the air raid”.
Syrian state TV is quoting President Bashar Assad as saying that the airstrike of the US -led coalition against his troops was meant to support the Islamic State group.
Despite numerous violations by the government and Syrian rebels, the US has few other options for ending the five-year-old conflict that has killed a half-million people, contributed to Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State group to emerge as a global threat.
USA and United Kingdom aircraft hit a Syrian government position near the eastern city of Deir el-Zour on Saturday.
Syria was angered by a US airstrike on Saturday near Deir el-Zour that was meant to hit IS militants but instead killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers.
A senior Syrian opposition figure says the U.S. -Russia-brokered cease-fire that went into effect in Syria a week ago is now “clinically dead”.
The US, which brokered the deal with Russian Federation, said it was working to extend the agreement but it called on Russian Federation to clarify the Syrian statement. The convoy was delivering aid for 78,000 people in the hard-to-reach town of Urm al-Kubra in Aleppo Governorate, he said.
Under the terms of their agreement, the USA was supposed to rein in opposition forces and Moscow was to ensure its ally Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad halted attacks.
Update 10.38am: The UN humanitarian aid agency has temporarily suspended all convoys in Syria following a deadly air strike on aid trucks the previous night.
The Syrian Army announced this evening that the week afforded to the ceasefire in the country has come to an end and according to human rights organizations aircrafts have already attacked areas near Aleppo.
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193036193051193051Is the Syrian cease-fire deal starting to fray?After a cease-fire started on Monday, Syrian state television showed bulldozers clearing the road into wartorn Aleppo – a crucial step toward getting aid from Turkey.
