Aleppo has been the center of violence in Syria in recent months where some 2,200 people, including some 700 civilians, have been killed since last July according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence in Syria.
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The shelling comes as the Syrian army advanced recently in the countryside of the coastal city of Latakia, stepping closer to the rebel stronghold Jisr al-Shughour.
If the fighting ceases for one weak, the U.S. and Russian Federation, which back opposing sides in the war, could launch joint operations against jihadist groups, including the self-styled “Islamic State” militant organization.
The United States and Russian Federation reached a breakthrough deal early on Saturday to try to restore peace in Syria, but air strikes hours later added to rebels’ doubts that any ceasefire could hold. He said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was informed of the accord, and prepared to comply.
After weeks of negotiations and months of failed peace efforts, the US and Russian Federation have ironed out a plan which is aimed at reducing the violence in Syria, while simultaneously linking USA and Russian Federation efforts to strike Islamist militants in the country, CNN reports.
“The entire agreement was reached with the knowledge of the Syrian government”, SANA wrote.
The deal reached in Geneva on Friday did not touch on Assad’s fate, but it calls on Moscow to exert its influence on the regime – highlighting the fact that Syria’s post-war leadership remains key to resolving the conflict.
The opposition High Negotiations Committee on Saturday said it had yet to receive “the official text” of the agreement.
The agreement, which Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov came to in Geneva early Saturday, will consist, at first, of a seven-day cessation in hostilities on both sides of the conflict, starting Monday, so that humanitarian aid can be brought into war-torn areas like the city of Aleppo.
Earlier, Turkey and a key Syrian opposition group pledged on Saturday to support the complicated and partly-secret U.S. -Russia cease-fire deal.
Kodmani says mechanisms will be needed for the enforcement of the deal, including the “cessation of hostilities and the grounding (of) regime air forces”.
Truces agreed in the past have collapsed after both sides failed to hold up their ends of the bargain.
Then, the USA and Russian Federation would begin intelligence sharing and targeting coordination, while Assad’s air and ground forces would no longer be permitted to target the al-Qaida-linked militant group of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front.
For Washington, the fighting’s brutality and the Islamic State group’s rise now trump any larger gain it might have seen in Assad’s departure.
Mainstream rebels appear reluctant to withdraw from frontlines where Fateh al-Sham Front jihadists are also present because of fears the ceasefire will fail, he said.
Washington is unlikely to attack Syrian forces, given President Barack Obama’s longstanding opposition to entering the war, even after Assad famously crossed Obama’s “red line” by using chemical weapons in 2013. “This is not a reflection of ideological affinity as much as it is merely a military necessity”, he said.
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“We have holy warriors who will burn the ground”, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He also said that his group enjoyed support of a “coalition of crusaders”.
