Government forces in Syria are not allowing a United Nations convoy to deliver humanitarian aid starving families in eastern Aleppo, and their unwillingness to withdraw are jeopardizing the ceasefire, according to UN officials.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal worked out between Russia and the United States, the Syrian government was to issue documents allowing the UN vehicles to reach the besieged northern city. But on Thursday, forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad were still blocking the main artery into Aleppo, and refused to allow anyone to pass, including the UN convoy.
Moscow accused Washington of not living up to its agreements, while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told international reporters at a briefing that “by and large” the truce was still holding up and that it had been extended to next Monday.
UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, however, said that while the Syrian regime troops were expected to withdraw from the “Castello Road” into Aleppo, they were refusing to budge because opposition forces still remained in the same area — and the regime forces would not leave before the rebel forces.
De Mistura said that 40 UN trucks were still sitting at the Syria-Turkey border, packed with aid for some 80,000 residents in eastern Aleppo. But, he said, “The clock is ticking.”
