The fragile cease-fire in Syria appeared to be unraveling Sunday as rebel positions in Aleppo came under aerial attack Sunday, killing at least eight people, as world leaders gathered in New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
This violation comes amid heightening tensions between the United States and Russia after a raid by the American-led coalition killed dozens of Syrian soldiers on Saturday.
The Russian defense ministry said U.S. jets killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor in four air strikes by two F16 and two A10 fighter jets coming from the direction of Iraq. Moscow called for a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the strikes.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Moscow’s request for the meeting was a “stunt,” while her Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin accused the U.S. of violating agreements that it would not target army positions.
Churkin called the strike a “bad omen” for the U.S.-Russia deal to halt Syria’s war, which has killed more than 300,000 people since it erupted in 2011.
But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed Russian accusations Sunday during an interview with CNN. Kerry instead pinned the blame on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
FILE – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, answer reporters’ questions on Sept. 9, 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland, before they begin a bilateral meeting focused on Syria.
FILE – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, answer reporters’ questions on Sept. 9, 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland, before they begin a bilateral meeting focused on Syria.
Kerry said Assad’s government is blocking humanitarian aid from reaching some of Syria’s hardest-hit areas and has continued the violence, and he said Russia must pressure Assad.
“So let me just say this clearly: Russia signed up to a cessation of hostilities. Assad said he would live by it,” Kerry said. “Then he needs to stop and let the joint implementation center get set up so Russia and the United States can coordinate in order to avoid the kind of terrible thing that happened yesterday that we all acknowledge and regret.”
The seven-day cease-fire is supposed to end at midnight Sunday, according to a Syrian army statement issued last week. The U.S. and Russia have said that if it holds for seven days, it should be followed by the establishment of a Joint Implementation Center for both countries to coordinate the identification of targets against Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants.
Kerry called on Russia to stop Assad from undermining the peace deal because “there are no good options” to stop the crisis in Syria, and that the options that do exist are “ugly.”
“One option is trying to move toward a cease-fire and trying to get to the table to have a negotiation. But the other option moves to more arms in the area, more fighting, more destruction, more migrants, more refugees. More children, women, schools, hospitals hit. Literally, possibly the destruction of Syria as an entire nation and state. And it is getting close to that even now,” Kerry said. “So the options are not pretty. But you’ve got to put to test the seriousness of purpose of a nation.”
