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Syrian opposition figure says ceasefire never took hold

A Syrian activist group says 92 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the U.S. -Russia-brokered cease-fire a week ago.

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Erdogan said the Syrian opposition forces, backed by Turkish troops and tanks, are determined to advance toward al-Bab to clear the region of terror threats.

One of the officials said the attack “had dealt a serious blow to our efforts” and “it is up to the Russians to demonstrate seriousness of goal”.

Russian and United States officials met in Geneva on Monday and the International Syria Support Group – the countries backing the Syria peace process – were scheduled to meet on Tuesday in NY to assess the ceasefire agreement.

In a statement published in state news media, the Syrian army’s general command placed blame for the failure of the cease-fire on its global opponents and on truce violations by insurgent groups.

The Syrian army meanwhile had yet to announce any extension of the seven-day ceasefire it declared on September 12, which was due to expire at 11:59 p.m. (2059 GMT) on Sunday, according to the statement issued by the army command when the truce was announced. Denouncing what he said were repeated violations of the cease-fire, a senior Russian military official said it was “senseless” for the government of Assad to respect the cease-fire.

The Syrian army said the seven-day truce that was brokered by the United States and Russian Federation ended Monday, as previously declared.

“So we just began today to see real movement of humanitarian goods, and let’s see where we are”. We need to see where we are, and then we’ll make a judgment.

“With the rebels failing to fulfil conditions the ceasefire agreement, we consider its unilateral observance by the Syrian government forces meaningless”, Rudskoi said.

“While we have seen comments attributed to the Syrian military”, said John Kirby, State Department spokesman, “our arrangement is with Russian Federation, which is responsible for the Syrian regime’s compliance, so we expect Russian Federation to clarify their position”.

Rudskoi accused Washington of failing to fulfill its obligations under the truce deal – most importantly to separate the US -backed opposition units from al-Qaida’s branch in Syria.

Russia’s defence ministry appeared to bury the truce, saying rebel violations made it “pointless” for government troops to uphold it.

The U.S. expressed “regret” for the “unintentional loss of life”, and said that it had been coordinating with Russian Federation but not made aware of the Syrian position.

Ibrahim Alhaj told The Associated Press that Syrian civilians will pay the price for the decision – and that the United Nations should have condemned the attacks on the convoy rather than suspending aid.

Syrian activists and paramedics had said earlier that the airstrikes killed 12 people.

UN diplomats and other officials have expressed frustration that the Syrian government had not given permission to distribute humanitarian aid that the United States and Russian Federation had expected to be granted under the deal.

“We are prepared to extend the cessation of hostilities, while working to strengthen it and expand deliveries of assistance”, Mr Kirby said in a statement released after the Syrian declaration.

While acknowledging numerous violations, Kirby said the truce, which took effect last Monday, had been responsible for “a measure of reduced violence”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says around 20 civilians were killed in the airstrikes that hit an aid convoy in northern Syria the previous night.

The raids came as what is likely to be the final attempt by the US administration of President Barack Obama to find a negotiated solution to the five year old civil war appeared close to collapse.

“Whenever the Syrian state achieves tangible progress either on the ground or in national reconciliations, the states that are hostile to Syria increase their support for terrorist organizations”, Assad said Monday, according to Syria’s state media outlet SANA.

He has publicly expressed doubts about the possibility of creating a viable peace process with Russian Federation, but doesn’t appear to have a Plan B.

“We have not had seven days of calm and of delivery of humanitarian goods”, Kerry said.

He said the incident which involved the USA -led coalition fighting against Islamic State showed an “increase in support for terrorists by countries opposing Syria”, state media quoted him as saying.

The row erupted amid mounting reports of ceasefire violations – including air strikes by Syrian government forces on rebel held areas of the beleaguered city of Aleppo. “But the armed terrorist groups didn’t take it seriously and didn’t commit to any of its articles”, the military command statement said. The government blamed some of the violence on what it said was an insurgent assault, but another rebel official denied they had yet launched new attacks.

A Syrian activist group said 92 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the ceasefire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 29 children and teenagers were among those killed, as well as 17 women. The figure does not include dozens of Syrian soldiers and Islamic State militants killed in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour.

The areas hit are close to Syrian army positions that were targeted on Saturday by the US -led coalition.

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The UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent humanitarian mission had sought to take advantage of the ceasefire, which collapsed on Monday night as shells and bombs rained down on Aleppo city and the surrounding province. Doing so may result in civil and/or criminal penalties.

Syria truce: Conflict simmers 7 days in