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US, Russia trade accusations as Syrian ceasefire falters

Almost half a million people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since 2011.

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The clashes on Friday were described as some of the most serious since the truce deal came into effect on Monday, with both the government and rebels accusing each other of breaching the US-Russia brokered ceasefire.

The ceasefire deal went into effect Monday and calls for a halt to the violence between the Syrian regime and rebel forces, but it does not cover militant groups considered terrorists, such as ISIS and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al Nusra Front.

However, Russia is ready to extend the Syrian ceasefire regime for 72 hours as part of Geneva accords despite numerous violations, he said.

“Most likely we are not going to have a resolution at the Security Council because the United States does not want to share those documents with the members of the Security Council”, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

Three civilians, including two children, were killed in air raids on Friday on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Al-Qaida and Islamic State group militants, who are excluded from the cease-fire, are not present in the area, he said.

Experts say the deal will be particularly hard to implement in areas where Fateh al-Sham has formed strong alliances with local rebels.

Earlier in the day, a barrage of rocket fire and shelling could be heard coming from the rebel-held east Damascus district of Jobar, an Agence France-Presse correspondent said.

State television spoke of a violation of the ceasefire.

Two aid convoys destined for Aleppo were still stuck on the Turkish border after several days while the sides argued over how the supplies were to be delivered.

“The convoy is ready and will move as soon as conditions allow”, said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the United Nations humanitarian office.

“I have been urging the Russian government to make sure that they exercise influence on the Syrian government, and also the American side to make sure that Syrian armed groups, they also fully cooperate”.

Meanwhile, Russia was expected to deploy its forces along Aleppo’s Castello Road to ensure safe passage for humanitarian convoys to the city’s opposition-held quarters.

“As humanitarians this is immensely frustrating”.

“We are as ready to go as we can possibly be. The world is watching”, Swanson said.

Konashenkov says Russian officers of the Center for Reconciliation are monitoring the Castello Road leading to Aleppo, but he stopped short of saying whether there were any Russian troops there.

De Mistura noted that even the Russians were expressing frustrations with the Syrian government over its blockade.

Earlier on Saturday, Russian president Vladimir Putin questioned the U.S. commitment to the ceasefire, suggesting that Washington was not prepared to break with “terrorist elements” battling Assad’s forces.

Under the deal, Moscow must put pressure on Mr Assad and Washington must work with Syrian rebels to silence their guns.

At least 62 Syrian troops died and nearly 100 others were injured during an anti-Daesh coalition attack on a military base in eastern Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

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On Sept. 10, Russian Federation and the United States announced a landmark agreement on a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, which both sides hope would lead to their countries’ military cooperation to end more than five years of bloodshed there. “And the chief obstacle to that has been the Assad regime”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

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