The fighting and shelling in neighborhoods on the edges of Damascus were the heaviest in weeks, according to activists and residents, sparking concern the fragile cease-fire may be starting to fray.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain, said the fighting was actually in Jobar, to the south of Qaboun.
‘From the first minute Russia’s been meeting its obligations to enforce the cessation of hostilities in Syria, ‘ the defense ministry said in the statement.
The United States has called for rebels fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army to disengage from the group now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, as part of the agreement with Russian Federation that includes a ceasefire that began on Monday. He also restated Moscow’s demand that the US use its influence with opposition forces it supports to distance themselves from al-Qaida-linked fighters.
The agreement calls for a seven-day temporary cease-fire, after which the US and Russian militaries would set up a “Joint Implementation Center” and begin cooperating in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al Qaeda militants.
A video posted online on Friday appeared to show Syrian rebels threatening to slaughter United States troops after they moved into the town of al-Rai with Turkish troops ahead of an offensive against a nearby town controlled by IS.
SANA accused the insurgents of launching the attack, triggering retaliation by government forces. The Observatory on Thursday reported the first three deaths since the cease-fire went into effect.
As part of the truce deal, the rebels and the Syrian government are supposed to agree to the deployment of a security force to protect checkpoints along the route to Aleppo to ensure aid delivery to the city’s opposition sector, which has been besieged by Russian-backed government forces since July.
Aleppo-based activist Bahaa al-Halaby said humanitarian conditions in the eastern neighbourhoods of Syria’s largest city are deteriorating.
“Humanitarian conditions are very hard”.
The Pentagon still does not have answers to basic questions, such as to whether it would need a waiver on the suspension of the U.S. -Russia military relationship implemented since Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in 2014.
The United Nations has called on all parties to guarantee the security of a humanitarian aid convoy.
But Friday morning, the trucks were still waiting at the border with Turkey, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“Right now we are focused on the implementation of the agreement brokered by Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov, particularly the urgent need for humanitarian aid to reach Syrians in need”, a USA spokesperson said in a statement.
Egeland said aid convoys could reach besieged zones such as Muadamiyat al-Sham near Damascus, al-Waer in Homs and Douma north of the capital by the end of the week if the permits were issued, which would be simple to do.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday the United States was using “a verbal smokescreen” to hide its reluctance to fulfill its part of a ceasefire agreement on Syria, including separation of moderate opposition units from terrorist groups. It would be the most overt participation by Russian ground forces in the Syrian war, underscoring Moscow’s position as power broker in the conflict. Russian Federation intervened with its air force on the side of President Bashar Assad’s government a year ago, turning the tide of the war in his favor.
A senior Syrian rebel official in Aleppo said a withdrawal by rebel factions was under debate “because the agreement stipulates that the regime must respect the truce but that did not happen”.
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Keaten contributed from Geneva.
