BEIRUT—U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said a shaky cease-fire in Syria is holding “by and large” despite sporadic fighting that continued across Syria and growing accusations of violations that threatened to derail the truce, now in its third day.
Speaking to reporters Monday in Geneva, Ban confirmed receiving a letter from the High Negotiations Committee, the main umbrella opposition group, complaining of continuing violations by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian backers.
The letter sent Sunday urged the U.N. to help “specify the territory covered by the truce to prevent hostilities in the designated inclusion zones.”
The Russia-U.S.-brokered cease-fire that went into effect at midnight Friday excludes the Islamic State group as well as al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front. The cease-fire has significantly reduced violence across the war-ravaged country, bringing some respite to civilians particularly from airstrikes.
But accusations of breaches by both sides threaten to torpedo the deal, which aims at bringing back the Syrian government and the opposition to peace talks in Geneva next week. Ban told reporters he wanted the cease-fire extended beyond the initial 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. A briefing note sent out by OCHA Monday said the assistance will include food, water and sanitation supplies, as well as non-food items and medicine to people trapped in besieged areas.
Aid deliveries are a main opposition demand ahead of the planned resumption of Syrian peace talks in Geneva on March 7. An attempt to start indirect peace talks between the sides collapsed earlier this month over escalating violence in the country, including a massive Russian-backed government offensive in Aleppo.
