The government of President Bashar Assad is holding up deliveries of aid in violation of the deal struck last week by Russian Federation and the United States, the UN mediator for Syria said Thursday.
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The U.S. military will have to shift surveillance aircraft from other regions and increase the number of intelligence analysts to coordinate attacks with Russian Federation under the Syria cease-fire deal partly in order to target militants the U.S. has largely spared, senior officials say.
The UN said 20 trucks loaded with aid had crossed into a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria, voicing hope the supplies could be delivered to besieged rebel-held districts of Aleppo on Friday.
Aid for Aleppo, however, has been stuck on the Turkish border for five days now, with the United Nations calling on the Syrian government to “immediately” allow life-saving supplies into the city’s rebel-held areas, where about 300,000 people are living under siege.
Aside from the reducing the bloodshed, the “second dividend” of the U.S. -Russia deal is humanitarian access, de Mistura told reporters in Geneva.
“Of course, this is only 24 hours, the 48 hour benchmark is going to be important because that’s the one which will be assessed by the two co-chairs”, he added.
“The message was given during a Friday phone call between Secretary of State John KerryJohn KerryUS to Russia: No joint Syrian operations if aid can’t get through Pentagon: “Not all terms” of Syrian cease-fire being met A clear signal on Georgia’s future MORE and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the department said”.
Despite accusing Washington and the rebels of not holding up their end of the deal, senior Russian officer Viktor Ponikhir announced in a televised briefing that Moscow was ready to extend a Syria truce set to run out Friday evening for a further 72 hours.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said aid was expected to arrive in the rebel-held city of Aleppo. Another child died of wounds sustained earlier from sniper fire in al-Masharfeh, a government-held neighborhood in Aleppo city.
His colleague, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, said the American special forces would provide the same training, advice and other assistance that the USA has been giving to other Syrian opposition groups – such as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces – which are fighting ISIL in northern Syria.
Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador, said there were discussions at the United Nations on the proposed resolution that could be adopted on Wednesday when the Security Council holds a special meeting on Syria.
Russian ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin said there was no point in briefing the council if the USA did not want to say exactly what was in the deal.
According to Syrian state media, militants shelled government-held areas in Qaboun, northeast of the city centre, injuring three people.
Compounding humanitarian concerns, de Mistura also mentioned some of the delicate points of the agreement that need to be closely monitored in the coming days.
In recent days, images have emerged from Syria showing people taking advantage of the rare calm to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.
The Pentagon, however, has serious reservations about coordinating air strikes and sharing intelligence with Russian Federation and has raised objections on numerous grounds, according to United States officials.
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The UN says it is still waiting to be able to deliver aid to besieged Aleppo.
