But a closer look at the landscape allows a glimmer of hope that a turning point may have been reached with the truce that took effect Monday, Sept. 12, 2016.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to “extend the cessation (in Syria) for another 48 hours”, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Wednesday.
Supplies are in warehouses ready for transportation to rebel-held east Aleppo and other besieged areas as soon as they are cleared to enter, said spokeswoman Krista Armstrong of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Underscoring the complexity of the new arrangement, the deal was not made public in its entirety even as it came into effect.
There are many players on the Syrian battlefield, and rebels encompass extremist elements – like ISIS and the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which recently rebranded as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham – as well as moderate groups that want to oust Assad but don’t share the Islamist goals of the extremist groups.
Activists say Syria’s cease-fire is still holding despite some violations but aid has not yet reached besieged rebel-held neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo.
A fragile truce in Syria has been extended for 48 hours under an agreement between Moscow and Washington, but there was still no sign of much-needed aid deliveries on Thursday.
The deal, struck by International Syria Support Group co-chairs United States and Russian Federation, is to be renewed every 48 hours. “There is certainly no sign that Russian Federation is prepared to push really hard on the Syrian government to make some big compromises at a political negotiation the Obama administration hopes might solve the Syrian crisis”. The eastern neighborhoods, where some 250,000 people live, have been under government siege for most of the past two months.
United Nations officials are cautiously optimistic that aid convoys could soon set out to deliver food, fuel, medical supplies and other essential goods to civilians who have been trapped by the fighting all summer.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the United States and Russian Federation to push all warring sides in Syria to allow safe passage for desperately needed aid to besieged civilians.
Ban said he has been in touch with the Russian government urging them to exercise influence on the Syrian government to let the trucks in.
Separately, Turkey sent a pair of trucks to the Syrian border town of Jarablus to deliver food and children’s toys on the third day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. “But so far it’s been the best days seen since five-plus years ago. We are still living in a prison”.
Disagreements between the warring sides were blocking aid getting into opposition-held eastern Aleppo, Swanson added. Medical facilities in rebel-held areas have been frequent targets for government bombings. The Britain-based Observatory follows the war using a network of contacts in Syria.
There was no comment from state media or the army about the proposed withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Syrian state media reported violations of the cease-fire in central Homs, saying that rebels fired mortar rounds Wednesday in a rural part of the province.
Zakaria Malahifji, of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters news agency that rebel groups intend to comply with the plan to withdraw 500 metres from the Castello Road in order to make it a neutral space, but the government must also pull back.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, estimates that up to 430,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although an accurate estimate is nearly impossible to obtain.
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Peskov said that’s the “key task, without which further progress can hardly be possible”.
