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09-17-2016, 05:20 AM
ALEPPO, Syria: UN aid trucks carrying food for besieged civilians in Aleppo remained stuck at the Syrian border on Friday, as diplomatic tensions mounted between Washington and Moscow over a fragile ceasefire deal.
The truce was billed as the “last chance” to end the five-year war but it has been marred by a lack of aid deliveries, sporadic violence and friction between Russia and the United States, which brokered the deal.
On Friday a barrage of rocket fire and shelling could be heard coming from the rebel-held east Damascus district of Jobar, an AFP correspondent said.
“The Syrian army is blocking an attack by armed groups that tried to enter the capital´s east via Jobar... leading to intense clashes and rocket fire," a military source told AFP.
Both the Islamist faction Faylaq al-Sham and the Fateh al-Sham Front -- formerly al-Qaeda´s Syrian affiliate -- are thought to be present in Jobar.
Syrian state television described the incident as a violation of the ceasefire.
Under the truce deal negotiated by Moscow and Washington, which took effect Monday, fighting is to halt across the country except in areas where jihadists are present.
Experts say the deal will be particularly difficult to implement in areas where Fateh al-Sham has formed strong alliances with local rebels.
The United Nations has described the ceasefire as a “critical window of opportunity” to deliver aid to rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo city, where around 250,000 civilians are besieged by government forces.
The UN had hoped that 40 trucks of food -- e**ugh to feed 80,000 people for one month -- could be delivered to east Aleppo as soon as possible.
But on Friday morning, the trucks were still waiting at the border with Turkey, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN ****** for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The challenge we continue to face -- and this is the very sad reality -- is ensuring all parties to the conflict, and those with influence over them, are in agreement," he told AFP.
Under the truce deal, the main route for humanitarian assistance into divided Aleppo, the Castello Road, would be demilitarised and aid convoys would enter from Turkey.
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The truce was billed as the “last chance” to end the five-year war but it has been marred by a lack of aid deliveries, sporadic violence and friction between Russia and the United States, which brokered the deal.
On Friday a barrage of rocket fire and shelling could be heard coming from the rebel-held east Damascus district of Jobar, an AFP correspondent said.
“The Syrian army is blocking an attack by armed groups that tried to enter the capital´s east via Jobar... leading to intense clashes and rocket fire," a military source told AFP.
Both the Islamist faction Faylaq al-Sham and the Fateh al-Sham Front -- formerly al-Qaeda´s Syrian affiliate -- are thought to be present in Jobar.
Syrian state television described the incident as a violation of the ceasefire.
Under the truce deal negotiated by Moscow and Washington, which took effect Monday, fighting is to halt across the country except in areas where jihadists are present.
Experts say the deal will be particularly difficult to implement in areas where Fateh al-Sham has formed strong alliances with local rebels.
The United Nations has described the ceasefire as a “critical window of opportunity” to deliver aid to rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo city, where around 250,000 civilians are besieged by government forces.
The UN had hoped that 40 trucks of food -- e**ugh to feed 80,000 people for one month -- could be delivered to east Aleppo as soon as possible.
But on Friday morning, the trucks were still waiting at the border with Turkey, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN ****** for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The challenge we continue to face -- and this is the very sad reality -- is ensuring all parties to the conflict, and those with influence over them, are in agreement," he told AFP.
Under the truce deal, the main route for humanitarian assistance into divided Aleppo, the Castello Road, would be demilitarised and aid convoys would enter from Turkey.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/World-TheNewsInternational/~4/mwTFGcZ94Q4
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