The Britain-based Observatory said the violence stemmed from clashes between rebels and government forces in the Jobar district on Damascus’s eastern outskirts.
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The Castello road should serve as a humanitarian corridor to deliver much-needed United Nations aid to civilians in the besieged city and the neighboring regions, according to the agreement negotiated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, in Geneva on September 9.
“It goes without saying that Russia continues using its influence in order to ensure the implementation of the ceasefire agreements and it hopes that our USA counterparts will be doing the same”, he said in remarks carried by the Russian news agency TASS.
“Although the ceasefire agreement is bilateral, only one side is truly implementing it”, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
“The secretary made clear that the United States will not establish the Joint Implementation Centre with Russian Federation unless and until the agreed terms for humanitarian access are met”, Kirby said, referrring to a deal to set up a joint committee to enable the U.S. and Russian Federation to coordinate attacks on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham armed groups.
The US, which backs some rebel groups in the civil war and Russian Federation, which supports troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, agreed to cool fighting from Monday, September 12.
According to news reports, two aid convoys, each of around 20 trucks and carrying mostly food and flour, crossed into Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu, about 40 km west of Aleppo, on Tuesday.
A ceasefire deal that went into force at sundown on Monday – meant to end hostilities and ensure aid deliveries – also calls for the demilitarisation of the Castello Road, the main route for humanitarian assistance into the divided Syrian city of Aleppo.
The ceasefire in Aleppo, Syria seems to be mostly holding, but aid is still not getting through to besieged areas of the city.
One of the most powerful insurgent groups in Aleppo province denied that government forces had withdrawn from the Castello road.
Humanitarian aid to war-stricken citizens in Syria is still being blocked by the government, despite a truce arranged by the United States and Russian Federation.
He also accused Washington of being unable to “differentiate between opposition sites and terrorist sites” – the two sides had planned to establish a joint operations room to target groups they both consider terrorist, including Islamic State, if the truce lasted beyond a week.
An urgent council meeting called to discuss the agreement was abruptly cancelled on Friday amid disagreements between Russian Federation and the United States over the joint deal.
Laerke also clarified United Nations comments a day earlier, saying that the United Nations does not require authorization from Syria’s government for cross-border aid deliveries under the terms of a Security Council resolution from 2014.
Russia’s military announced Thursday evening that Syrian government forces had begun withdrawing from Castello road but did not confirm if Russian troops would be stationed there.
He says al-Qaida and Islamic State group fighters, who are excluded from the cease-fire, are not present in the area.
“Leading to intense clashes and rocket fire”, a military source told AFP.
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But early Friday, 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.
