Kerry says looking into reported violations of Syrian truce

The cessation of hostilities between a handful of rebel groups and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began Friday, excluding terrorist groups such as ISIS and al Nusra Front.

The Saudi foreign minister on February 28 said the Assad regime and Russian Federation have violated the truce in Syria.

Syrian opposition has accused the Syrian regime and its allies of killing 29 people in attacks following the recently agreed cessation of hostilities agreement.

The letter sent Sunday urged the U.N.to help “specify the territory covered by the truce to prevent hostilities”.

Staffan de Mistura, the UN’s Syria envoy, aims to relaunch peace talks on March 7 if the ceasefire lasts and more aid is delivered. Mr Ban said he wanted the ceasefire extended beyond the planned duration of two weeks.

The U.N. also said it plans to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to about 154,000 people living in besieged locations inside Syria over the next five days.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the aid will include food, water and sanitation supplies, as well as non-food items and medicine, for people trapped in besieged areas.

A spokesman for the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said the truce was broken by Syrian government forces 15 times in the first day, and that there were further violations by Russian Federation and Hizbullah.

Twenty trucks carrying blankets and hygiene supplies entered rebel-held Moadamiyet al-Sham, encircled by government forces, and another 31 were to follow on Monday.

Fighting in the province continued on Monday, with Syrian state media reporting that troops and other pro-government forces have opened the road linking the northern city of Aleppo with central and western Syria after it was cut by ISIL last week. Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said it had recovered the body of a senior commander, Ali Fayyad, who was killed during fighting in the region.

The leaders of the Saudi regime, which is committing massacres against the Yemeni people, and after all it did in Syria for five years, should be tried at the International Criminal Court, the source said, adding that the same goes for the Israeli war criminals who had visited Saudi Arabia recently.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the Britain-based monitoring group, reported air strikes – believed to be either Syrian or Russian – on seven villages in Hama and Aleppo provinces. “France has therefore asked that the task force overseeing the implementation of the cessation of hostilities meets without delay”, he said on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council.

The deal, which is less binding than a formal ceasefire and was not directly signed by Syria’s warring government and rebel forces, does not cover action against militants from Islamic State or the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate. He added that Russian warplanes carried out 26 airstrikes on Sunday alone targeting rebels that are abiding by the truce.

“We have received indications that attacks, including by air, have been continuing against zones controlled by the moderate opposition”, said French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

The Su-25 is one of the aircraft the Russian military has deployed in Syria to provide air support for the Syrian army.

The ceasefire in Syria was brokered by leading world powers, including the USA and Russian Federation, and is meant to pave the way to reconciliation between the Syrian government and moderate rebel forces, which would together agree on a peaceful transition in the country.