The Syrian army said it was launching a “major operation” against rebels in Damascus on Monday, as its sponsor Russian Federation said a week-long ceasefire was “pointless” due to violations by rebels.
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Assad described the attack that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour as a “blatant American aggression”.
O’Brien called the attacks “sickening” and said he was “disgusted and horrified”. The convoy was carrying humanitarian cargo to some 78,000 civilians stranded in the war-stricken town.
The Observatory said aid trucks making a routine delivery organised by an global organisation to an area west of Aleppo city were hit near the town of Urm al-Kubra. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 29 children and teenagers were among those killed, as well as 17 women.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S.is ready to work with Russian Federation to strengthen the terms of the cease-fire agreement and expand deliveries of humanitarian aid.
Egeland added, “It is outrageous that it was hit while offloading at warehouses”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported civilian deaths from airstrikes in Idlib on Friday and in Aleppo on Sunday, though it didn’t identify the perpetrators.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said meanwhile that the terms had not been met for a key aspect of the deal – US-Russia cooperation against jihadists in Syria.
The troops were surrounded by Islamic State fighters, and the strikes “paved the way for ISIS terrorists to attack” a nearby hilltop, Syria’s military said in a statement reported by the state-run news agency.
The familiar storyline came as the 5-year-old civil war threatened to enter a darker phase as the United Nations denounced what it called a deliberate attack on a humanitarian convoy, which killed 20 civilians.
The State Department said that it was ready to work with Russian Federation to strengthen the terms of the agreement and expand deliveries of humanitarian aid.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused the United States of refusing to coordinate its operations with Russia in Syria.
The cease-fire came into effect on September 12. Their deal earlier this month would have created a new, joint U.S.
Still, the army didn’t speak of any possible extension to the week-long truce, but accused the rebels of committing over 300 violations to the truce.
Denmark says two of its F-16 fighter jets took part in the US -led air raid that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers over the weekend.
The International Syria Support Group the two convened includes countries with widely divergent interests, such as Iran a Syrian ally and Saudi Arabia, a provider of arms and cash to rebels.
“However, the situation and reporting on it continues to evolve and we are unable at this time to independently verify casualties”, he added. The United States called the episode a mistake, but the Syrian government called it proof Washington was siding with terrorists.
Ibrahim Alhaj told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Syrian civilians will pay the price for the decision.
Kerry said on Monday that there had finally been some progress with aid.
“I believe that practically it has failed and has ended”, Zakaria Malahifji, head of the political office of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters news agency.
The Syrian military statement placed the blame squarely on the rebel groups.
“This step (cease-fire) was to constitute a real chance to stop the bloodshed”.
The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group in Syria, said Russia’s air forces and government warplanes dropped 25 bombs damaging some 20 trucks and destroying the Red Crescent warehouse in Uram al-Kubra. “The armed terrorist groups took advantage of the declared truce system and mobilized terrorists and weapons and regrouped to continue its attacks on civilian and military areas”.
“Considering that the conditions of the ceasefire are not being respected by the rebels, we consider it pointless for the Syrian government forces to respect it unilaterally”, said Sergei Rudskoy, a lieutenant general. “Instead it worked to undermine it with organised violations during the week as well as preventing aid from reaching Aleppo”, the group said in a statement sent to reporters.
Pointing to the fact that Syria’s rebels don’t possess an air force, the White House said process of elimination indicated that either Syria’s military or Russia’s launched the attack.
Monzer Makhous, a spokesman for the HNC, said it was clear the ceasefire was not being respected, although he did not want to call it completely dead.
As violations mount, a senior Syrian opposition official declared the cease-fire “clinically dead”, adding that government forces have violated the truce all over the country. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the failure of Syrian rebels to adhere to the truce “threatens the cease-fire and US-Russian agreements”.
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Confusion continued about who struck the convoy, but the White House insisted it was either Russian Federation or Syria.
