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Syrian war: UN to expand aid amid partial truce Syria conflict: UN steps up aid deliveries as truce holds
(about 4 hours later)
The UN is poised to begin delivering aid to people living in besieged areas of Syria, making use of a truce brokered by the US and Russia. An aid convoy has reached one of several besieged towns in Syria, as the UN takes advantage of a partial truce brokered by the US and Russia.
Its first deliveries are planned for Monday, with aid due to reach about 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas over the next five days. The UN and its partners are stepping up deliveries of food, water and medicine, and plan to reach more than 150,000 people over the next five days.
The UN hopes to help an estimated 1.7 million people by the end of March. They hope to help 1.7 million in hard-to-reach areas by the end of March.
Saturday's long-awaited truce appears to be holding despite complaints of breaches from both sides. Earlier, the UN's secretary general said the cessation of hostilities had held "by and large" since Saturday.
A key Syrian opposition group said the situation was much better. Ban Ki-moon also said a taskforce monitoring compliance, co-chaired by the US and Russia, would meet for the first time to evaluate alleged violations.
Syria: Mixed verdict on fragile truce France has expressed concern about reports of air strikes by Syrian government and Russian aircraft on areas controlled by mainstream rebel forces.
Before the truce, Western powers accused Russia of attacking moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; Moscow says it only targets UN-designated terrorist groups. Russia has said that it is only targeting UN-designated jihadist terrorist organisations - including the so-called Islamic State (IS) and the al-Nusra Front, which is part of a major rebel alliance - in line with the terms of the cessation of hostilities.
Against the odds: analysis by Mark Lowen. BBC News, Gaziantep, near the Turkey/Syria border Meanwhile US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter stressed that the US-led coalition would also continue to fight IS during the truce.
This is now a crucial window of opportunity for the UN to get food and aid to the besieged. The truce does, in general, remain intact despite both the Western-backed opposition and regime sides complaining of dozens of violations over the weekend, including air strikes around Aleppo. "Let me make it crystal clear," he told a news conference in Washington. "There is no cessation of hostilities in the counter-ISIL [IS] campaign. Operations continue unabated."
But it is unclear whether the target was the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra front, which would not constitute a ceasefire breach since it and so-called Islamic State are not included in the deal. 'Sealed off'
A rebel spokesman talked of violations "here and there" but a situation much better than before. Moscow also complained of incidents but said on the whole, the ceasefire was being implemented. The relative calm on the ground around the capital Damascus allowed 10 aid lorries carrying blankets and hygiene supplies to entered the suburb of Muadhamiya on Monday afternoon, Syrian Arab Red Crescent officials said.
On Wednesday, the UN and its partners plan to deliver aid to the rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani, in the mountains north-west of Damascus, and the government-controlled towns of Foah and Kefraya, in the northern province of Idlib.
Against the odds - by Mark Lowen, BBC News, Gaziantep, near the Turkey/Syria border
This is now a crucial window of opportunity for the UN to get food and aid to the besieged. The truce has, in general, remained intact despite both the Western-backed opposition and regime sides complaining of dozens of violations over the weekend, including air strikes around Aleppo.
But it is unclear whether the target was the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra front, which would not constitute a ceasefire breach since it and the so-called Islamic State are not included in the deal.
A rebel spokesman talked of violations "here and there" but also of a situation much better than before. Moscow also complained of incidents but said on the whole, the ceasefire was being implemented.
That it has largely held for the weekend has defied expectations but there is still a lot of scepticism that it can continue for the full two weeks.That it has largely held for the weekend has defied expectations but there is still a lot of scepticism that it can continue for the full two weeks.
Children in the city of Aleppo went to schools on Monday without hugging walls for fear of attacks, AFP news agency reported. They are also expected to attempt another air-drop over the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, where 200,000 people in government-held areas are under siege by IS.
"Our teachers used to forbid us from going out to the school yard because of the air strikes but today we went out and played," said Ranim, 10, a pupil in a rebel-held area of Aleppo. High winds and parachute failures meant that pallets carrying 21 tonnes of food dropped last week either missed their target, went missing or were damaged.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said on Monday that over 450,000 people were currently trapped in besieged towns and villages across Syria. Thousands, he added, "risk starving to death". The UN says more than 450,000 Syrians are trapped in 15 besieged towns and villages under siege, while 4.1 million others are living in hard-to-reach areas.
An earlier copy of Mr Zeid's speech circulated by his office quoted him as saying that "thousands of people may have starved to death" in Syria. Officials blamed an "editing error". "Some of these people have not been receiving assistance for months or even up to a year in some cases, so it's really, really important that we get food in and other kinds of assistance," Greg Barrow of the World Food Programme told the BBC.
The UN plans to use the lull to deliver food, water and medicine to six towns this week, Reuters news agency reports: "We're very concerned about the nutritional status of people living in those areas that have really been sealed off from the outside world," he added.
The UN says it needs the approval of Syria's warring parties before it can further expand its deliveries. 'Some incidents'
Efforts to deliver aid to Islamic State-besieged Deir al-Zour by air last week failed when several pallets were damaged, disappeared or landed in no-man's land. The UN's secretary general meanwhile told reporters in Geneva that "by and large the cessation of hostilities is holding, even though we have experienced some incidents".
"Primarily we will try to deliver food by land because that is the most efficient way, it's the way that we can deliver the largest amounts of food but there are some areas of the country where we can't get across the front line," Greg Barrow, a spokesman for the UN World Food Programme, told the BBC. The taskforce monitoring the truce is "now trying to make sure that this does not spread any further and that this cessation of hostilities can continue", he added.
Almost 500,000 people are living under siege in Syria, the UN estimates. Mr Ban also confirmed receiving a letter from the main opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, in which it urged the UN to help "specify the territory covered by the truce to prevent hostilities in the designated inclusion zones".
The cessation of hostilities was agreed as part of a plan by the US and Russia, who have backed opposing sides in Syria's civil war. The HNC's general co-ordinator, Riad Hijab, wrote that since Saturday there had been seven barrel-bomb attacks, 24 cases of artillery shelling and five cases of ground attacks by government forces, resulting in a large number of civilian deaths. Russian warplanes had meanwhile carried out 26 air strikes on territory held by rebel forces abiding by the truce on Sunday alone, he added.
It does not apply to the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) or the Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda. Mr Hijab warned that continued violations would jeopardise the resumption of UN-brokered talks aimed at finding a political solution to the five-year conflict.
Read more State media said armed groups had fired dozens of mortar rounds at government forces in Latakia province on Sunday, though rebels in the area denied the reports.
The main Syrian opposition grouping has complained of several violations of the ceasefire by the government side, which is supported by Russia.
The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said it would be sending a formal letter of complaint about the breaches to the UN and other world powers.
However, it added that, despite violations "here and there", it was "positive to see people getting relief… to be safe, and free from fear".
Russia also complained of several breaches but said "on the whole, the ceasefire regime in Syria" was being implemented.
UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several air strikes had pounded northern Aleppo province but it did not say who was responsible.
It is hoped the cessation will pave the way for a formal ceasefire.
UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has said peace talks will resume on 7 March if the truce "largely holds".
Syria's civil warSyria's civil war
Why is there a war in Syria?Why is there a war in Syria?
Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that, four years on, has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that, four years on, has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
What's the human cost?What's the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured. Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured. Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.
How has the world reacted?How has the world reacted?
Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are supporting the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran have pro-Assad forces on the ground, while Russia and a Western-led coalition are carrying out air strikes.Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are supporting the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran have pro-Assad forces on the ground, while Russia and a Western-led coalition are carrying out air strikes.
Syria's civil war explainedSyria's civil war explained