Heavy military gears and vehicles have started to withdraw, with a small number of soldiers left till the Syrian army’s positions there are fully handed over to the Russian forces, the source said on condition of anonymity.
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But hours later Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov slammed the USA for what he called “rhetorical fog” intended “to hide the fact that it is not fulfilling its part of the obligations”.
The United Nations yesterday urged Syria’s government to allow immediate aid deliveries to hunger-stricken civilians after a fragile ceasefire was extended for 48 hours by Russian Federation and the United States.
Jan Egeland, the top humanitarian aid official in de Mistura’s office, said the United Nations could reach its target areas in the country within a “few days” once it received authorization.
A U.S. -Russia-brokered cease-fire in Syria that began on Monday is meant to help stage the ground for peace talks to end Syria’s devastating civil war, now in its sixth year.
“Moreover, it seems that the goal of Washington’s “verbal veil” is the intention to hide non-compliance with its part of the obligations”.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Wednesday acknowledged problems but said, “We’ve seen violations by both sides”.
Savchenko said opposition forces were yet to pull back from the road.
Over 2,000 people were killed in 40 days of fighting in Aleppo until the cease-fire went into effect Monday.
He spoke to residents there, who said they were happy for the reprieve from the fighting but were not necessarily optimistic the ceasefire would hold.
The text of the cease-fire agreement has not been released and Russian Federation said it was being kept private at the request of the United States.
The Observatory reported minor violations by both sides, but no casualties.
“Those facilitation letters, final permission for the United Nations to actually reach those areas [in need], have not been received”.
He urged the United States to compel rebels to separate themselves on the ground from allied fighters from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham – a jihadist group known as al-Nusra Front until it formally broke off ties with al-Qaeda in July. “That is the agreement between the Russians and the Americans and it should be done immediately”.
It’s not clear if those strikes were carried out unilaterally or in coordination with the US.
But promised authorization from Damascus for large-scale humanitarian convoys had not yet been received. Aid delivery is also an important way to judge if a ceasefire is successful. The UN’s special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, also expressed hope that the truce will allow aid to be delivered to the warn-torn Syrian regions “very soon”.
“If they do that, we’re willing and able to go to all these places in the next few days”, he said.
“Our appeal is the following-it’s a simple one”, Jan Egeland, the top humanitarian aid official in de Mistura’s office, told the AP.
It comes as both sides in the conflict accuse each other of violating a truce deal brokered by the USA and Russian Federation last week, which calls for a nationwide ceasefire and safe passage for aid deliveries.
But if cooperation falls apart after the JIC is implemented, that could pose a whole new set of problems for the U.S., according to Francona.
“We need government permission”, he said. “And if this agreement fails, the Syrian Air Force will know where to go to kill all of those rebels that we’ve been supporting”.
The UN has accused the Syrian government of refusing to allow its aid deliveries into the stricken city.
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Nevertheless, the ceasefire appears to have offered a respite in violence in the five-year civil war that’s killed 430,000 people, according to one estimate, and touched off an worldwide refugee crisis.
