An official from the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said on Monday that the fragile “cessation of hostilities” in Syria faced “complete nullification” because of attacks by President Bashar Assad’s government forces.
The French government agreed that there were serious reports of attacks against opposition forces that constituted a breach of the agreement, that only took effect on Saturday.
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On the other hand, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the truce was largely holding, despite incidents that he said he hoped would be contained. The Kremlin, Assad’s principal backer, said the process was under way, although it had “always been clear it would not be easy.”
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the cease-fire was largely holding with casualties greatly reduced compared to the days leading up to the agreement.
The “cessation of hostilities,” the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war burst out in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire. It is hoped it will allow actual peace talks to resume and enable aid trucks to reach besieged communities. Non-food items such as blankets entered the Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya on Monday despite a siege by government forces, according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.