Last Monday, a Russian-U.S. ceasefire was implemented in Syria, bringing relative calm to the most troubled areas, including Aleppo.
Advertisement
One week ago, Damascus announced that the U.S./Russia-brokered cease-fire had gone into effect across the war-torn country.
Britain said on Monday it had also taken part in the air strikes that killed Syrian soldiers.
A US-backed rebel group in the divided northern city of Aleppo said the initiative had “practically failed”.
The truce also includes the demilitarisation of the Castello Road, the main route for humanitarian assistance into the divided Syrian city of Aleppo.
Speaking after reiterating the opposition’s vision for a Syria post-President Bashar al-Assad, Hijab said there had been countless United Nations resolutions and efforts to bring an end to “Syrian bloodshed” but that there had been nothing to show for it.
The last ceasefire, reached in February, unraveled over a period of weeks as fighting intensified, particularly in and around Aleppo, Syria’s biggest city before the war and now potentially the biggest prize for pro-government forces.
David Butter, associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, called the latest development a “severe setback” and said the prospects for peace “look very poor” at this point.
“And for more than a week, the Syrian regime repeatedly denied entry to these United Nations convoys, preventing them from delivering urgent food, water and medical supplies to desperate Syrian citizens”. “The Russians made the agreement”.
The Syrian Armed Forces General Command issued a statement Monday declaring that “the US-Russian ceasefire deal started since September 12th is over”.
“The place turned into hell, and fighter jets were in the sky”, said Ammar al-Selmo, the Aleppo director of the White Helmets, a volunteer civil-defense force in rebel-held areas.
The Syrian government claimed rebel groups have breached the ceasefire at least 300 times.
-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 maintained for seven straight days.
Ayrault, who has criticized Washington for not releasing the cease-fire agreement, said the U.S.
Assad said Monday the airstrikes by the US -led coalition against his troops were meant to support the Islamic State group, calling the attack a “blatant American aggression”. That was to be set up after seven days of reduced violence and sustained aid deliveries to Aleppo and other areas.
The official said that before the strike was called off, USA forces had destroyed roughly six vehicles and the “personnel associated with them”.
President Bashar al-Assad on Monday accused the U.S. of “flagrant aggression” for the attack on its forces in Deir Ezzor.
Assad described the attack that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour as a “blatant American aggression”.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian foreign ministry official Hossein Jaber Ansari in Damascus. Assad appeared on state-run media in Syria to condemn the attack, which the USA apologized for and said was an accident.
Iran is one of Assad’s strongest supporters.
The Prime Minister said the United Kingdom would co-operate with the investigation by the US-led coalition into the attack on Saturday near the eastern city of Deir el-Zour.
The Syrian military declared a week-long ceasefire over Monday and said that it would resume fighting, though the USA said the truce could only be called off by the US and Russian Federation since they are the entities that negotiated it.
The Syrian military said earlier Monday that the cease-fire had expired.
The Syrian government forces have in fact also repeatedly been accused of violating the truce.
The US-Russia brokered truce aimed to allow humanitarian access and joint attacks against militant groups, which are not covered by the agreement, including Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. President Barack Obama has made clear the USA will use military force only against IS and other extremist organizations, and not against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.
Advertisement
After Kerry went into more bilateral meetings, the State Department issued a statement to clarify the USA position and insist on the need for more consultations. The official said, however, that even though USA operations over the area had ceased in the immediate aftermath of the strike, it did not preclude US aircraft from returning to the area in the coming days.
