The United Nations urged Syria’s government Thursday to allow immediate aid deliveries to hunger-stricken civilians, after a fragile ceasefire was extended for 48 hours by Russian Federation and the United States.
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In a sign of renewed tensions between the two powers, who back opposing sides in the conflict, key regime ally Moscow accused Washington of failing to meet its obligations under the truce deal it brokered with Moscow. “We are working on it”, he told reporters in NY.
Churkin says: “I think we need to adopt it on the 21st” – a reference to Wednesday’s summit level Security Council meeting on Syria.
The U.N. says it has 40 trucks ready to distribute aid in the country, and it would prioritize delivery to the embattled, rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo.
Two convoys of aid for Aleppo have been waiting in no-man’s land to proceed to Aleppo after crossing the Turkish border. “Can well-fed, grown men please stop putting political, bureaucratic and procedural roadblocks in the way of fearless humanitarian workers who are willing and able to go to serve women, children and wounded civilians in besieged and cross-fire areas?”
Russia’s military announced Thursday evening that Syrian government forces had begun withdrawing from the route to Aleppo, though the Pentagon said it had no indication of a withdrawal.
The Syrian ceasefire is breaking down in Aleppo, as the deal brokered by Russian Federation and the United States shows signs of strain.
“There’s an impression that the goal of Washington’s “curtain of words” is an intention to hide the fact that it is not fulfilling its obligations, above all the separation of units of the “moderate opposition” from the terrorists”, Konashenkov said. The initial cessation of hostilities, which began Monday, was supposed to last 48 hours, which was extended by another 48 hours after the United Nations deemed the area still too unsafe for aid groups to enter.
Almost half a million people have been killed in the years-long civil war, and millions more have been displaced or marooned in embattled areas.
The United States and Russian Federation are due to start coordinating military strikes against Islamic State and a group formerly known as the Nusra Front if all goes to plan under the deal.
That casualty toll is according to Deir el-Zour 24, an activist collective.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said it had documented attacks by both sides, and that despite widespread calm between rebels and the army, the first civilians had been killed since the truce began on Monday. While residents and activists have reported a significant reduction in violence, de Mistura said the deal has yet to fulfill its “second dividend” ensuring humanitarian access.
But promised authorization from Damascus for large-scale humanitarian convoys had not yet been received. “We’re not. … The permits have not been given”, Jan Egeland, chairman of the Syrian humanitarian task force, told reporters in Geneva.
A respite in hostilities will also allow time for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the besieged city of Aleppo and areas in the Idlib Province.
The ceasefire extension “provides us a critical window of opportunity to assist the people in need in east Aleppo”, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Officials assess that the temporary cease-fire is “largely holding”, but at the same time, have declined to say what day of the seven-day cease-fire – which began on Monday – it is at this point. In addition, air strikes against Islamic State militants in the town of al-Mayadin near Deir al-Zor had killed at least 23 civilians, it said.
The Observatory said earlier the army was unwilling to pull back until the opposition forces did.
But Moscow insists that Washington is failing to get rebels to separate on the ground from radical jihadists.
There remains deep scepticism about whether the truce will hold.
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If the deal does hold, it could open the door to new peace talks to resolve the conflict, with Russian Federation saying the United Nations envoy could invite government and opposition representatives to new talks “at the very beginning of October”.
