Syria’s military announced the end to the truce earlier Monday, accusing rebels of more than 300 violations and failing to “commit to a single element” of the US-Russia deal.
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But while the agreement has led to a significant reduction in fighting over the past week, violence has been increasing in recent days, and a planned delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo – one of the first steps in the deal – has been repeatedly postponed.
The UN said a 20-truck aid convoy destined for the east of the city with enough supplies to feed tens of thousands is still stuck in Turkey, a week after arriving at the border.
That was to be set up after seven days of reduced violence and sustained aid deliveries to Aleppo and other areas. Those seven days of calm and aid deliveries were required before the US and Russian Federation could embark on a plan to cooperate in targeting the Islamic State group and al-Qaida affiliates working in Syria.
Russian Federation placed blame for the ceasefire’s failure at the feet of President Barack Obama, suggesting on Sunday that the accidental bombing of a Syrian military position by American fighter jets would lead to the dissolution of the agreement.
“So we need to see what the Russians say, but the point, the important thing, is the Russians need to control [Syrian President] Assad who evidently is indiscriminately bombing, including of humanitarian convoys”, Kerry said to reporters as he entered a meeting in NY with Saudi officials.
“I call on all parties to the conflict, once again, to take all necessary measures to protect humanitarian actors, civilians and civilian infrastructure as required by global humanitarian law”, said U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O’Brien. “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”.
Sirens wailed as ambulances zipped through the eastern rebel-held half of the divided city, the correspondent said, describing the bombardment as “non-stop”.
Aid was delivered to the besieged town of Talbiseh in Homs province on Monday, the Red Cross said, for the first time since July.
“We can confirm that the United Kingdom participated in the coalition air strike south of Deir el-Zour on Saturday, and we are fully co-operating with the coalition investigation”, the MoD spokesman said.
But the Syrian military and rebels have accused each other of violating the truce.
The United States has accepted its aircraft may have accidentally hit a Syrian government position during an attack on Islamic State (IS) which is not covered by the ceasefire agreement.
It came under massive strain on Saturday when a US-led coalition strike hit a Syrian army post near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where government forces are battling the Islamic State jihadist group.
His adviser Buthaina Shaaban went further, telling AFP that Damascus believed the raid which killed at least 62 Syrian soldiers had been intentional. Syrian state media said there were 32 violations by rebels on Sunday alone.
“It is now clear that the regime and Russian Federation from the first day were not committed to the ceasefire”, said Yasser Alyousef, a spokesman for the opposition’s Nour al-Din al-Zinki brigades. And Russia said government positions in southwestern Aleppo came under attack from militant groups, including a massive barrage of rockets.
The Syrian military said the airstrike enabled an ISIS advance on a hill overlooking the air base.
Speaking to Reuters from the Turkish city of Gaziantep, he also indicated that rebel groups were preparing for new military action, saying: “I imagine in the near future there will be action by the factions”.
“It’s really bad”, he said. The idea of a no-fly zone has already been rejected by policy makers in Washington who say that it is too hard to implement, taking Russia’s air campaign into consideration.
The United Nations had said earlier on Monday that aid including wheat flour and health supplies for 78,000 people was to be delivered to Urm al-Kubra. Australian, British and Danish warplanes were involved in that attack on Syrian army positions.
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Rebel forces and activists say government planes have bombed areas that are under the truce agreement, including rebel-held parts of Aleppo.
