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.
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United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said initial reports indicated many were killed or seriously injured in the convoy attack, including Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers.
“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.
Syria’s military announced the end to the truce earlier Monday, accusing rebels of more than 300 violations and failing to “commit to a single element” of the US-Russia deal.
The agreement, negotiated by top diplomats from government backer Russian Federation and the United States, saw an initial drop in fighting across the country after it came into force on September 12.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits with President Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia during a bilateral meeting Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in NY.
United Nations peace envoy Staffan de Mistura said all participants at Tuesday’s meeting reconfirmed support for the truce, even if Assad’s military and the rebels weren’t always respecting it.
De Mistura also said he was “profoundly outraged” by Monday’s attack on an aid convoy, describing it as a “game changer” in forcing a serious discussion on how to stop the violence.
Aid distribution to Syrian civilians caught up in the conflict had already faced severe difficulties.
As the USA side has said, Lavrov and Kerry will focus on the observance of truce in Syria in general and the attack against a humanitarian convoy in Syria’s Aleppo province.
A Red Crescent warehouse was also hit and a Red Crescent health clinic was reported to be seriously damaged, he said.
Last Monday, a Russian-U.S. ceasefire was implemented in Syria, bringing relative calm to the most troubled areas, including Aleppo.
“Only the Syrian government forces have observed the cessation of hostilities over the past six days since it came into effect… while militants attacks against the Syrian army are on the rise”, the ministry’s spokesman Maj. -Russian agreements. That was after Russia’s military said continuing rebel violations made it “meaningless” for the Syrian army to respect the deal.
Russian and USA officials met in Geneva on Monday and the International Syria Support Group – the countries backing the Syria peace process – were scheduled to meet on Tuesday in NY to assess the ceasefire agreement.
“The Armed Forces confirms its intention and determination to continue. fighting terrorism to restore security and stability to Syria”.
And if the ceasefire held, the USA was to have set up a joint military cell with Russian Federation to target jihadists.
Asked whether he expected aid to reach rebel-held areas of eastern Aleppo, he said: “There is no hope”.
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.
His adviser Buthaina Shaaban went further, telling AFP that Damascus believed the raid which killed at least 62 Syrian soldiers had been intentional.
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Elsewhere at least 20 civilians, including a one-year-old girl, were killed in fresh air strikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo city and surrounding areas, according to the Observatory.
