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| Syrian Abu Khaled looks at the rubble of his destroyed house in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, on Dec 30, 2016, on the first day of a nationwide truce. (Abd Doumany / AFP) |
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council has scheduled a vote Saturday morning on a Russian resolution that would endorse the ceasefire agreement in Syria and reiterate support for a roadmap to peace that starts with a transitional government.
The draft resolution calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered" access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country
The draft resolution also calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered" access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country. And it looks forward to a meeting in late January between the Syrian government and opposition in Kazakhstan's capital Astana "as an important part of the Syrian-led political process facilitated by the United Nations."
Russia and Turkey, who brokered the cease-fire agreement, circulated the text and the draft resolution to Security Council members Thursday night. After closed discussions in the council Friday morning, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin circulated a revised text, called for a vote on Saturday, and urged council members to support it.
The nationwide Syrian ceasefire that went into effect at midnight held Friday despite minor violations.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported clashes early Friday between troops and rebels in the central province of Hama and near the capital, Damascus. It said that later in the day a man was killed by sniper fire in eastern suburbs of Damascus, becoming the first fatality since the truce went into effect. The group also reported an aerial attack on the rebel-held Barada Valley near Damascus.
The Syrian army denied reports it was bombarding the Barada Valley region saying opposition claims aim to show that the army is not abiding by the truce.
Several past attempts at halting the fighting have failed. As with previous agreements, the current cease-fire excludes both the al-Qaida-affiliated Fatah al-Sham Front, which fights alongside other rebel factions, and the Islamic State group.
