The Syrian government says it will not allow aid, particularly “from the Turkish regime”, to be delivered to Aleppo without prior co-ordination with it and the United Nations, state media report.
Advertisement
United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura said that the trucks are ready to move and that the Syrian government was in breach of the agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russian Federation, which included allowing the vehicles through simply by notifying the government in Damascus.
The statement carried by state media came almost a full day into a fragile truce brokered by Russian Federation and the United States, which calls for immediate and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Syria.
“While UN convoys have yet to enter Syria, de Mistura said that if the truce sticks, “(aid) access should be taking place very, very soon”, and that the people of Syria could look forward to “no bombs and more trucks”. This news story is related to Latest/150043-UN-says-it-delivered-no-aid-on-day-one-of-Syria-truce/ – breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne.
The Russian foreign ministry called on the United States “to deal with their clients”.
A week-long ceasefire is set to take effect in Syria at sundown on Monday.
The UN says its trucks will not move until peace is assured.
“Syrian government troops have completely stopped firing, with the exception of areas where Islamic State and Nusra fighters are active”, senior Russian military officer Viktor Poznikhir said in a televised briefing, adding that “moderate opposition” forces had fired 23 times at residential areas and regime positions. Many residents have been killed and others have fled the city.
“The Syrian government is determined to recover every area from the terrorists”, Assad told Syrian state media after he attended Eid al-Adha holiday prayers in Darayya, a former militant stronghold recently recaptured by the government.
The lull in violence was a rare respite for residents of the war-ravaged country, where more than half the population has been displaced and hundreds of thousands live under siege. However, there have already been reports of sporadic fighting continuing.
If the ceasefire holds for a week, Moscow and Washington will then begin an unprecedented joint campaign to target extremists, including ISIL and former AL Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh Al Sham.
Advertisement
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported minor violations by both government and rebel forces in different parts of the country, but no deaths or major fighting. A critical theme of the deal was to isolate jihadis from mainstream groups.
