“The marketplace was full of civilians shopping for the upcoming Eid holiday”.
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The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on September 10 that some 58 civilians were killed in a strike targeting a market in the city of Idlib.
If the ceasefire holds for one week, the USA and Russian Federation could start joint operations against jihadists from the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate.
Numerous dead were women and children who ventured out into the market to buy supplies for Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday that begins on Monday just as the ceasefire is due to come into force.
Turkey and Russian Federation have been on opposing sides of the conflict, with Ankara backing the opposition seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad and Moscow his key global supporter.
“Iran supports any ceasefire and peace plan to end the humanitarian crisis in Syria or limit it that involves a political solution. based on the Syrian people’s votes”, said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.
The opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) was more circumspect, saying it had yet to receive the deal’s “official” text. That is what makes it credible, really.
“If we we have a credible line of cessation of hostilities, then we can look to moderate groups in the opposition to disassociate themselves from extremists”.
After a sustained period of reduced violence, Russian Federation and the United States would work together to develop military strikes against Nusra and the militant Islamic State, Kerry said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always welcomed the establishment of ceasefire in Syria and easier access to the humanitarian aids for the whole people of the country (Syria)”, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Sunday.
Kerry said the “bedrock” of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions in an agreed area on the pretext of hunting fighters from the al-Nusra Front.
He also alluded to the possibility of backsliding that all but doomed a previous U.S. -Russia cease-fire initiative earlier this year, which briefly halted the fighting and paved the way for new aid convoys before a resurgence of bloodshed.
Saturday’s air raids were mostly in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.
But the question of Assad’s fate remains a key sticking point: the HNC repeated its demand this week that he leave power, but Russian Federation continues to back him.
The army attacked rebel-held areas, both sides said, pushing to maximise gains before the ceasefire deadline.
Syrian government “air attacks have been the main driver of civilian casualties and migration flows and the most frequent violations of the hostilities”, said Kerry.
The arrangement would ultimately aim to step up and concentrate the firepower of two of the world’s most powerful militaries against IS and the group once known as Nusra, listed by the United Nations as terrorist groups.
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In the past, several cease-fires were brokered-all which failed to hold.
