A September 9 temporary truce in Syria brokered by the US and Russian Federation has all but collapsed as the two countries blame one another for the latest failure.
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In an interview with the AP on Wednesday conducted in the presidential palace in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad dismissed the US’ expression of regret for the loss of life, going on to blame American officials for the collapse of the recent ceasefire for “not having the will” to combat terrorists and militants in the war-ravaged country.
Although they have made a handful of strikes in the past two years against terrorist forces that are fighting alongside the rebels, USA aircraft have focused on Islamic State targets to the north and east of where the Russians and Syrians have been striking.
The president blames his enemies for almost six years of devastation across Syria, and while acknowledging some mistakes, he denies any excesses by his troops.
Assad said he expected the deadly conflict raging in his country to “drag on” into its sixth year because of what he said was continued external support for his opponents.
A USA official said the US believes with a very high degree of confidence that a Russian-piloted aircraft carried out the strike.
Dunford said it “is very difficult” to manage the balance between supporting the Kurds and dealing with the Turkish government’s adamant opposition to that support.
But neither the USA nor Russian governments disclosed details about how precisely any possible future military coordination would work between the former Cold War foes.
“It’s hard to see how these ridiculous claims deserve a response, except to say they prove yet again the degree to which Assad has lost his legitimacy to govern and how vital it remains for the global community to achieve a political solution that gives the Syrian people a voice in their future”, John Kirby said Thursday.
Capturing the rebel-held half of Syria’s largest city would be the biggest victory of the war for the government side, which has already achieved its strongest position in years thanks to Russian and Iranian support.
Nor does it appear that Syria’s ground forces were able to bolster their numbers or capabilities in a way that would give them any particular advantage.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the committee’s chairman, opened the hearing by saying that the administration “still has no plausible vision of an end-state for Syria”.
Aleppo, once Syria’s commercial and industrial hub, has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with the government controlling the west and rebels the east.
In an interview with Associate Press, he rejected USA accusations that Syrian or Russian planes struck an aid convoy in Aleppo. Then, the ministry denied any Russian or Syrian involvement as its spokesman suggested, in Kerry’s words, that “the food and the medicine just spontaneously combusted”.
The U.N., Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies had hoped that a ceasefire agreed earlier this month would allow them to get life-saving supplies to more than a million Syrian civilians.
“I wouldn’t say that we don’t have mistakes”, he went on, referring to accusations of human rights abuses and civilian deaths perpetrated by his forces.
The U.N. suspended aid deliveries on Tuesday after the convoy was struck near Aleppo in northern Syria the previous day.
Dunford was also asked whether the military was prepared to share “intelligence” with Russian forces under the now-suspended cease-fire agreement, provided it could be reinstated and sustained.
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While the USA has blamed Russian fighter jets for that strike, the United Nations confirmed it hopes to also begin sending aid to Aleppo and other parts of Syria in the near future.
