{"id":145366,"date":"2016-09-15T22:52:14","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T19:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/syrianpc.com\/?p=145366"},"modified":"2016-09-15T22:52:14","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T19:52:14","slug":"us-covering-up-opposition-breaches-of-syria-ceasefire-russia-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/?p=145366","title":{"rendered":"US covering up opposition breaches of Syria ceasefire, Russia claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Russia accused the US of covering up opposition violations in Syria on Thursday as the three-day old ceasefire came under increasing strain.<\/p>\n<p>The Russian defence ministry said that Syrian regime forces had pulled back from the Castello road, a key access route into Aleppo, but that opposition groups had not withdrawn.<\/p>\n<p>The Russian foreign ministry also complained of opposition shelling. \u201cOnly the Syrian army has been observing the ceasefire regime, while the US-led \u2018moderate opposition\u2019 has been increasing the number of shellings of residential quarters,\u201d the ministry statement said. \u201cMoreover, it appears that the \u2018verbal curtain\u2019 of Washington is aimed at hiding the non-fulfilment of the US obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-2 | 1\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-news--item \">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__image-container u-responsive-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/273b890b0d84ba477a1bf4f11673dde4e45e5c69\/0_141_5472_3283\/5472.jpg?w=460&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=c6a48de88a49f9c5a8470cae6d7d25b0\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__header\">\n<h1 class=\"rich-link__title\">Lifesaving UN aid regularly fails to reach besieged Syrians<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__arrow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The strained rhetoric came as the first UN aid convoy bound for besieged eastern Aleppo remained stuck in the absence of permits from Damascus.<\/p>\n<p>The UN special envoy, Staffan de Mistura, said the Syrian government had not provided facilitation letters that had been agreed as part of the ceasefire deal, meaning that 40 trucks full of humanitarian supplies were halted at the Turkish border.<\/p>\n<p>De Mistura, who said the hold-up was a clear breach of the ceasefire agreement, said the intended delivery of aid into eastern Aleppo, subject to a different permission regime, was also being blocked by hurdles put in place by the Syrian government and opposition fighters.<\/p>\n<p>The delivery of aid is a precondition of the survival of a cessation of hostilities that came into effect on Monday and is designed to lead to unprecedented joint Russian-American action against terror groups inside Syria.<\/p>\n<p>De Mistura insisted the Russians were as disappointed as the UN at the \u201cdeeply regrettable\u201d refusal of the Syrian government to grant letters of permission in line with the agreement. He said he had been given fresh assurances by the Russians at a meeting on Thursday morning that the absence of the permission letters was a very severe disappointment, but he did not specify what pressure the Russians were placing on the Syrians to abide by the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of trucks were ready to be loaded, he said, and an opportunity to deliver aid and help solidify the ceasefire was being wasted. The UN has said it cannot cross front lines or checkpoints without Syrian permission.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-2 | 2\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-analysis--item \">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__header\">\n<h1 class=\"rich-link__title\"><span class=\"rich-link__kicker\">Analysis<\/span> Syrian ceasefire deal &#8211; the Guardian briefing<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__standfirst u-cf\">Everything you need to know about the ceasefire agreed between Russia and the US that is due to start at sunset on Monday<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__arrow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The separate blockage over eastern Aleppo has left 20 UN trucks that travelled from Turkey into a buffer zone waiting for the past 48 hours for UN agreement that it is safe to travel along the Castello Road, the main supply route into the divided city, where 250,000 people are desperate for food and fuel.<\/p>\n<p>Jan Egeland, head of the United Nations humanitarian taskforce for Syria, said the trucks were still in the buffer zone and \u201ccould go on a minute\u2019s notice\u201d. De Mistura said the aid could not move into Syria\u2019s second city before the Castello Road route had been fully secured.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"img-1\" class=\"element element-image img--landscape fig--narrow-caption fig--has-shares \" data-component=\"image\" data-media-id=\"10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\">\n<div class=\"u-responsive-ratio\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=620&amp;q=20&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=9f42c7dbcf3a691356220108d684f651 1240w\" media=\"(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"620px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=620&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=83cc837849fc6e75005ac46ef3791d22 620w\" media=\"(min-width: 660px)\" sizes=\"620px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=605&amp;q=20&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e3c277f4adb082a4621b6c32e7d5834e 1210w\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"605px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=605&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=4337c2bbdcf468f542305ea661340f7d 605w\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" sizes=\"605px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=445&amp;q=20&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=4dc9100fd8da652a16af5da2fba42e09 890w\" media=\"(min-width: 0px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"445px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=445&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=2c0b8cca5ad7320f3b89a17014ed8df2 445w\" media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" sizes=\"445px\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gu-image\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10f904bc33a9b34611feb166c07d0ed70baa61c2\/0_0_5053_3368\/master\/5053.jpg?w=300&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=30234dc6566219465f43da42f832543d\" alt=\"Syrians unload boxes after a 48-truck aid convoy entered the rebel-held town of Talbiseh, a besieged area in northern rural Homs, in July.\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"block-share block-share--article hide-on-mobile \" data-link-name=\"block share\"><span class=\"u-h\">Facebook<\/span><span class=\"u-h\">Twitter<\/span><span class=\"u-h\">Pinterest<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"caption caption--img caption caption--img\">Syrians unload boxes after a 48-truck aid convoy entered the rebel-held town of Talbiseh, a besieged area in northern rural Homs, in July. Photograph: Mahmoud Taha\/AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Russian-American agreement states trucks should be allowed to travel into eastern Aleppo without the need for written permission from the Syrian government. The Syrian government involvement is limited to being informed of the details of the aid being delivered, and details of what had been delivered.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, as part of the agreement, regime checkpoints on the Castello Road should be withdrawn, and opposition forces inside the city\u2019s east should not seek to block the delivery. \u201cThe trucks are ready and sealed, and the agreement is that once they move they will not be harassed and they will not be investigated and they will be moving along that road,\u201d De Mistura said.<\/p>\n<p>There have been reports that some opposition fighters are rejecting the delivery of the aid on the basis that it rejects the terms of the broader Russian-American agreement, including the plan to target fighters from the former al-Nusra front. The US says al-Nusra is linked to al-Qaida and is a legitimate target alongside Islamic State. But other groups in eastern Aleppo are reluctant to abandon al-Nusra.<\/p>\n<p>Under the ceasefire plan the Russian and Americans are supposed to create a joint centre to agree legitimate targets to attack by air. The Syrian air force would then in effect be grounded in those specified areas.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the problems, De Mistura insisted the Russian-American agreement \u201cis and remains a potential game-changer\u201d. He said it was too much to describe it as a cessation of hostilities, saying instead it had produced a reduction of violence, adding that \u201cby and large it is holding and is, in fact, substantial\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia accused the US of covering up opposition violations in Syria on Thursday as the three-day old ceasefire came under increasing strain. The Russian defence ministry said that Syrian regime forces had pulled back from the Castello road, a key access route into Aleppo, but that opposition groups had not withdrawn. The Russian foreign ministry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11972],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-newspapers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=145366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=145366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=145366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/training.syrianpc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=145366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}