deal does not include the fight against IS militants or Al Qaeda 's local Syrian affiliate , the Nusra Front . The truce had largely held across parts of Syria since late February , despite frequent accusations that both sides were committing breaches . But recent violence around Aleppo has sparked concerns that the ceasefire may not last , partly because rebels are involved in the battles there too .
“ It is only because of Russian Air Force support [ that ] the offensive of the terrorist group was stopped . We request that the air support for the Syrian armed forces be continued by the Russian air force in order to destroy the terrorists . ” The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that US air strikes against Syrian government forces jeopardize the Syrian ceasefiregovernment.agreements.violateagreementdeal reached between Moscow and Washington on September 9 . Earlier on Saturday Russia ’s Defense Ministry said that four strikes against Syrian positions had been delivered by US - led coalition aircraft – two F-16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft . The Syrian military called the bombing a “ serious and blatant aggression ” against Syrian forces , and said it was " conclusive evidence " that the US and its allies support IS militants .
At least 32 people were killed in separate attacks Monday in Aleppo and its western suburbs , according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights . The United States and Russia have been essentially on opposing sides of the conflict but had recently agreed to the ceasefire and some cooperation . But the two powers were quick to accuse each other of violating the ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire, and Moscow has long opposed the US position of supporting and arming what it calls moderate rebels to fight ISIS . The US State Department blamed Moscow and the Syrian regime for hampering the delivery of aid . " For more than a week , we have urged Moscow to fulfill the commitments it made in Geneva to facilitate the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people , " the department said in a statement .
The Syrian ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireis breaking down in Aleppo , as the deal brokered by Russia and the United States shows signs of strain . The breakdown threatens a planned United Nations effort to provide aid to Syria ’s largest city , Aleppo , where upwards of 250,000 people are trapped by the hostilities . The below video shows the eerie but anxious calm that fell over Aleppo as the ceasefire began .
The pair - Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov - were captured in eastern Ukraine last May. Russia denies sending troops to the region and has said the men were volunteers who had left active service . A fragile ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireis in place in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro - Russian rebels . The court in Kiev found Yerofeyev and Alexandrov guilty of waging an " aggressive war " against Ukraine , committing a terrorist act and using weapons to provoke an armed conflict , the Interfax news agency reported . The two men had denied the charges .
And it would stop the flow of refugees that is reaching crisis proportions in Europe . " The URL of that press release now redirects to her Syria issues page , but the release is still available via the Internet Archive . Stein 's issues page includes a more toned - down call for " principled collaboration in bringing a weapons embargo to the region , freezing the bank accounts of countries that continue to fund terrorist groups , promoting a ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire, and supporting inclusive peace talks . " Updated 1:22 p.m. : Stein spokeswoman Meleiza Figueroa says the statement , which appeared on Stein 's website for 11 months , was posted in error and does n't reflect her views . " Dr. Stein has never taken that position and had not seen or approved that statement , which was mistakenly posted on the website in November 2015 . "
But to the Assad regime , the strike today was no accident . Damascus called it a " serious and blatant aggression . ” On Monday , the U.S. and Russia entered a ceasefiregovernment.agreements.naagreement in Syria , in part to get humanitarian aid to cities like Aleppo . The ceasefire does not apply to strikes targeting ISIS . How this attack will impact the ceasefire is so far unclear .
While the ceasefire has reduced fighting , some violence has persisted across Syria . Meanwhile , there has been little movement on promised aid deliveries to besieged areas and both sides have accused the other of bad faith . Russia 's Defence Ministry said conditions in Syria were deteriorating , adding that it believed the ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirehad been breached 199 times by rebels and saying the United States would be responsible if it were to collapse . After the Deir al - Zor attack , it said Moscow had told the United States to rein in the Syrian opposition and make sure it did not launch a new offensive , adding that it had informed Washington about a concentration of rebels north of Hama . Insurgents say they only reluctantly accepted the initial deal , which they believe is skewed against them , because it could relieve the dire humanitarian situation in besieged areas they control , and blamed Russia for undermining the truce .
It did n’t just emerge out of thin air . And not to get into the details of how this conflict evolved , I think it ’s important , though , to say that , you know , the U.S. , their hands are not — are not clean , that this notion that the U.S. was standing on the side and not involved , that narrative is a false narrative . And this idea that the collapse of the last ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirecan be put at the foot of the Russians is , in fact , a outright lie . Now , that may be painful for folks who are not following the situation very closely , but it is , in fact , a fact , that , basically , the Pentagon undermined the agreement , the ceasefire agreement , that was negotiated by John Kerry , when they attacked the Syrian army and killed 62 of their soldiers , when they attacked a known site . That was the effective collapse of that ceasefire .
And this idea that the collapse of the last ceasefire can be put at the foot of the Russians is , in fact , a outright lie . Now , that may be painful for folks who are not following the situation very closely , but it is , in fact , a fact , that , basically , the Pentagon undermined the agreement , the ceasefire agreement , that was negotiated by John Kerry , when they attacked the Syrian army and killed 62 of their soldiers , when they attacked a known site . That was the effective collapse of that ceasefiregovernment.agreements.rejectnullifyagreementcontractceasefire. So , going into Syria and establishing a humanitarian zone , we ’re talking about an act of war . Where is the legitimacy for that ?
( CNN ) The United States and Russia have announced a plan to bring about a ceasefire in Syria , US Secretary of State John Kerry said . " Today we are announcing an arrangement that we think has the capability of sticking , but it 's dependent on people 's choices , " Kerry said Friday in Geneva , Switzerland , appearing alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov . Kerry said the pact calls for the Syrian government and the opposition to respect a nationwide ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirescheduled to take effect at sundown Monday . The Syrian regime announced its support of the ceasefire deal Saturday , according to the state - run al - Ikhbariya TV . Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov unveil the new plan Friday .
At the same time , lower down the ranks , at the operations level , one of the American military service personnel said quite frankly that they spent several days preparing this strike . How could they make an error if they were several days in preparation ? ” said Putin . “ This is how our ceasefiregovernment.agreements.violateagreementagreement ended up broken . Who broke the agreement ? Was it us ?
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/syria-civil-war-staff-manning-us-ceasefire-hotline-cant-speak-arabic-34511855.html http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article34497762.ece/b9e1e/AUTOCROP/h342/PANews%20BT_P-61be2583-7b15-4f1b-8945-028152c2217e_I1.jpg Email The US State Department has admitted that its round - the - clock hotline service for Syrians to report violations of the recent ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireneeds improvement , following reports that the volunteers manning the phones were unable to understand the Arabic speakers who called in . The hotline was set up on Saturday after the declaration of a tentative ceasefire in Syria ’s devastating civil war . Witnesses on the ground have been encouraged to call and report any breaches of the agreement between rebels and the regime of President Bashar al - Assad .
She also said the United States had admitted some 85,000 refugees over the past fiscal year , which ends Sept. 30 . That figure included about 12,500 Syrian refugees , exceeding the administration 's goal of 10,000 , she said . State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the push for additional humanitarian aid funds came in part because of deteriorating conditions in Aleppo after the collapse of a ceasefiregovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefiresponsored by the United States and Russia . The forces of Syrian President Bashar al - Assad have launched a massive push against rebel - held areas of the city , where some 250,000 civilians are believed to be trapped . Intensive bombing has killed hundreds of people , many of whom died in buildings collapsed by bunker - buster bombs .
Hide Caption 9 of 10 Photos : Aleppo photographer watches city die There is still fresh produce in the market stalls but it is more difficult to bring into the city , and much more expensive than even a few weeks ago . Hide Caption 10 of 10 The United States wants a nationwide ceasefiregovernment.agreements.nain Syria between the regime and the rebels to create the conditions for UN - led political talks to end the five - year civil war . The US - backed moderate opposition has refused to resume the UN - led talks unless a cessation of hostilities take hold and the regime and Russia end the siege and bombing of Aleppo . " The opposition tells us they want to reach a deal with the Russians if in fact it would stop some of the worst forms of violence against the Syrian people , " a second senior administration official said .
Syrians are also able to report violations of the truce by other means , including texting , emailing , or contacting the State Department via Google Voice . According to Syria Direct , some have decided to report the breaches instead to a United Nations hotline , which is manned by a native Arabic speaker . The UN ’s special envoy for the Syrian crisis , Staffan de Mistura , said yesterday that the ceasefiregovernment.agreements.nahad so far been successful despite scattered incidents of violence in the Homs , Hama , Lataki and Damascus provinces . “ Success is not guaranteed but progress is visible , ” he told reporters in Geneva . State Department spokesman John Kirby said this week that US had not been informed of “ any claims of any additional violations of any significance ” since the truce took effect over the weekend , but Syrians were sceptical .