The truce does not apply to the terrorist groups Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front that changed its name in July.
Advertisement
The most significant weakness of the new deal is that there is no mechanism to punish the Assad regime and Russian Federation if they conduct attacks against civilians, continue to refuse humanitarian assistance access to besieged opposition communities, or return to the systematic targeting of US -supported and acceptable armed opposition groups.
The theory behind this deal is that a renewed cessation of hostilities will protect the civilian population in opposition-controlled areas, which will save lives and provide the socio-political space for non-extremist Syrian rebel groups to take charge of the situation in their areas and marginalize extremists.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Washington it was “far too early to draw conclusions” about the success of the ceasefire, but said initial reports of the first two hours suggested “some reduction” in violence.
Cavusoglu says he hopes all parties will work to make the ceasefire permanent and that efforts “cannot be one-sided”.
More than 301,000 Syrians have been documented as killed since the start of the conflict in 2011, the Observatory said in its latest assessment on Tuesday, although it estimates the actual death toll at around 430,000, in line with the U.N.’s estimate.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has further infuriated divisions by saying that he would fight on to retake the whole country just hours before the US-Russia deal was announced. The Anadolu agency said the trucks left around noon, with a total of 40 trucks expected to cross the border by the end of the day.
Russian Federation is pushing to make public the text of the cease-fire deal, but Lavrov told reporters on Tuesday that the USA opposes such a move.
Turkey’s military said earlier in the day that it shelled two targets inside Syria after a mortar round fell inside Turkey, minutes after a cease-fire came into effect.
Lavrov said Moscow “has nothing to hide” and wants the U.N. Security Council to formally approve the Syria truce deal as well.
Kerry said the cease-fire appeared to be holding and that aid groups were moving forward on their plans.
Addressing reporters in Istanbul, Erdogan said: “Today after sunset, whether it is the United Nations or our Red Crescent, they will send food, toys and clothing to the people, mainly in Aleppo, through the predetermined corridors”.
Syrian state news agency SANA said rebels fired three shells at a government-held neighborhood in Aleppo.
“We have been mobilising, stockpiling, readying ourselves for this great opportunity to deliver this very urgent aid but we need that peace to be reinstated”, United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters.
According to the agreement reached last week, the USA will move forward with military cooperation with Russian Federation after certain conditions are met, including seven consecutive days of “humanitarian access”, Kerry said. A drone was shot down as well nearby.
A shaky truce appeared to be holding in Syria Tuesday – almost one day after a ceasefire brokered by Russian Federation and the USA went into effect – but critical aid still waited to to be brought to millions of people trapped in deadly conflict zones.
The agreement has been billed as the best chance yet to halt the bloodshed in Syria’s five-year civil war.
Rami Abdurrahman from the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says “calm is prevailing” in most of the country on Tuesday, although there were minor violations in central Hama province.
Advertisement
Syrian state media said armed groups had violated the truce in a number of locations in Aleppo city and in the west Homs countryside on at least seven occasions on Tuesday.
