He said the Syrian government had not provided the necessary “facilitation letters”, or permits, to allow the aid convoys to reach opposition areas, disappointing even Russian Federation, the Syrian president’s key backer.
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Twenty-four hours into the cease-fire, de Mistura said Syria had already seen a “significant drop in violence”, noting that the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Damascus, the country’s capital, remained relatively calm.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has applauded a Syrian cease-fire deal brokered by the United States and Russia, but said its success is “up to the Russians”.
“We are not using this window of opportunity so far to reach all of these places with humanitarian assistance”, Egeland said.
Fighters affiliated to al-Qaida and the so-called “Islamic State” group, who are excluded from the ceasefire, are not present in the area, he said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said the future of Assad is an internal Syrian issue and the US-Russia agreement does not deal with it.
A ceasefire in Syria’s brutal civil war appears to be holding into its second day, but the wait for humanitarian relief may last somewhat longer for hundreds of thousands of besieged Syrians. A statement from other rebel groups said the ceasefire will “leave room for the regime to take advantage of the situation to achieve military gains that they would have been incapable of achieving before”.
On Thursday Steffan de Mistura, the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, said aid groups were facing problems delivering aid, particularly in Aleppo and blamed a lack of authorization from the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“We were dying from shelling before, and now we’re going to starve to death”, said Abu Ibrahim, 53.
As the only supply route into the embattled part of Syria’s largest city, Castello Road plays a crucial role in ensuring that residents of Aleppo, who are largely dependent on outside aid, can receive food, medical items and other essentials.
A ceasefire agreement brokered by the USA and Russian Federation has brought relative peace and quiet to many areas in Syria, including places like Aleppo that have seen fighting for months on end.
However, de Mistura said the Syrian government had not provided the necessary “facilitation letters”, or permits, to allow for convoys to reach opposition areas, disappointing even Russian Federation, the Syrian president key backer. Earlier, the Russian General Staff also called for extending the truce, although it reported a significant number of violations by various militant groups.
Mikhail Bogdanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Assad’s future is “purely Syrian business”.
Elsewhere in the province, an airstrike on the IS-held town of Mayadeen killed at least nine people and wounded dozens, according to opposition activists and Deir el-Zour 24, an activist collective.
Konashenkov blamed the US for “its failure to honor its part of the commitments, especially on disengaging the moderate opposition”.
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The U.S. will also need additional targeting experts to identify and approve airstrikes against the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front.
