Airstrikes, shelling threaten Syrian truce

Associated Press

BEIRUT

Syria’s fragile cease-fire started to unravel Sunday with the first aerial attacks on rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo and a southern village that killed at least eight people, violations that came as tensions between the American and Russian brokers of the deal worsened after a deadly U.S. strike on Syrian government forces.

The air raid by the U.S.-led coalition killed dozens of Syrian soldiers and led to a harsh verbal attack on Washington by Damascus and Moscow. The U.S. military says it may have unintentionally struck Syrian troops while carrying out a raid against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria on Saturday.

The seven-day cease-fire was 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 targeting of Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants.

Despite largely holding, the cease-fire has been repeatedly violated by both sides, and aid convoys have not reached besieged rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and one-time commercial center, which has been the center of violence in recent months. Aid delivery to Aleppo is part of the U.S.-Russia cease-fire deal.