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Air strikes hit aid trucks near Aleppo – monitors and resident

The Observatory reported 35 strikes in and around Aleppo since the truce ended.

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An AFP correspondent inside Aleppo city reported nearly non-stop bombardment and constant sirens.

Sirens wailed as ambulances zipped through the eastern rebel-held half of the divided city, the correspondent said, describing the bombardment as “non-stop”. If the truce were to collapse, it could doom any chance of President Barack Obama’s administration negotiating a Syria breakthrough before it leaves office in January.

At least 18 of 31 aid trucks in the United Nations and Red Crescent convoy were attacked, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday, although he could not verify the number of casualties.

Theresa May said the United Kingdom would “never intentionally strike or focus on Syrian forces” after Britain admitted being part of a coalition air attack that has been claimed to have killed dozens of Bashar Assad’s troops.

On Sunday, rebel-held parts of Aleppo were targeted in aerial attacks for the first time since the truce went into effect, leaving a woman dead and several people wounded, according to opposition activists.

Rebel groups countered by accusing the Syrian government of violating the cease-fire, the AP said.

Once humanitarian relief arrives, the Russians and Americans are meant to agree on targeting jihadist factions: Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, the former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, and ISIS. The U.N. accused the government of obstructing the delivery while Russian officials said rebels opened fire at the delivery roads.

The Syrian army could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kerry had earlier insisted the ceasefire was “holding but fragile”.

It vowed to “continue fulfilling its national duties in fighting terrorism in order to bring back security and stability”.

Asked about the army’s statement, Mr Kerry told reporters in NY that the seven days of calm and aid deliveries envisaged in the truce had not yet taken place.

“We have not had seven days of calm and of delivery of humanitarian goods”, Kerry said. “We just began today to see real movement of humanitarian goods, and let’s see where we are”.

“The actions of the pilots – if they, as we hope, were not taken on orders from Washington – fall between criminal negligence and direct pandering to IS terrorists”, it said.

As world leaders gathered at the United Nations in NY to discuss a longer-term solution to the five-year Syrian civil war, Mr Kerry cited the delivery of food aid as a positive sign.

“Yes, we can confirm it happened to our convoy travelling to Orem, in Aleppo governorate”, Haq stated.

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian aid shipments remained undelivered – a key component of the deal. “The last two were barrel bombs”, he said, the sound of an explosion audible in the background.

An airstrike by the US -led coalition, which involves fighter jets from several countries, killed dozens of Syrian soldiers on Saturday and further undermined an already-eroded cease-fire.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has said the breakdown of the ceasefire was instigated by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, supported by Russian Federation – and not the fault of Western-backed opposition rebels. Washington has called it a mistake.

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The violence comes hours before the end of the ceasefire brokered between Washington and Moscow. That was to be set up after seven days of reduced violence and sustained aid deliveries to Aleppo and other areas.

Secretary of State John Kerry says the week-old truce in Syria brokered by the U.S. and Russia is'holding but fragile despite persistent violence and a lack of aid deliveries to besieged communities