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Syria’s Ceasefire Awaits ‘Death Certificate’ as International Community Lashes out at its Sponsors | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Damaged Red Cross and Red Crescent medical supplies lie inside a warehouse after an airstrike on western Aleppo, September 20, 2016/ Reuters-Ammar Abdullah


Beirut, New York-The U.S.-Russian ceasefire deal on Syria awaits to be announced as officially dead after violence resumed in the country when an aid vehicle of the Syrian Red Crescent was attacked in the countryside of west Aleppo, killing civilians and an official from the organization.

However, the U.S. has still not admitted that the ceasefire has ended. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that “the ceasefire is not dead.”

He spoke after the meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) attended by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Kerry said another meeting on Syria is expected this Friday with the aim of taking “more measures.”

But, other states doubted the U.S.-Russian deal on Syria could be revived again.

Kerry and Lavrov had chaired a meeting of 23 nations that had met at a New York hotel to look into chances for ending a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and driven millions from their homes.

Diplomats participating at the meeting tried to give some hope over the possibility of restoring a cessation of fighting in Syria.

After the meeting, U.N. special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said hopes to revive the ceasefire were still present, but he mentioned that participants at the ISSG meeting had warned about the dangerous situation in Syria.

On Monday, a convoy delivering aid to Syrians in Aleppo province was hit by a deadly air strike.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement: “The destination of this convoy was known to the Syrian regime and the Russian federation and yet these aid workers were killed in their attempt to provide relief to the Syrian people.”

Kirby added: “The United States will raise this issue directly with Russia. Given the egregious violation of the cessation of hostilities we will reassess the future prospects for cooperation with Russia.”

Speaking at the opening of the General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon lashed out at both the U.S. and Russia without naming them. He said the “powerful patrons” on both sides in the Syrian conflict “have blood on their hands.”

Ban also accused the Syrian regime of killing most civilian victims during the war. He said Damascus “was continuing to drop barrel bombs on neighborhoods and torture thousands of detainees.”

In Aleppo, regime forces jets on Tuesday raided the eastern suburbs of the city and attacked them with barrel bombs.