Syria conflict: Aid convoy 'hit by air strike' near Aleppo

[BaTMaN-]

Aid trucks have been hit by an air strike near the Syrian city of Aleppo, reports say, hours after the military declared the current cessation of violence was over.
The Syrian Red Crescent said the convoy had been making a routine delivery from Aleppo to rural rebel-held areas.
A UN spokesman said an aid convoy had been hit in Aleppo province but could not confirm it was an air strike.
UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said it was an "outrage".
"The convoy was the outcome of a long process of permission and preparations to assist isolated civilians," he said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
It is not known if there are casualties and the government has not commented.
Aid deliveries to besieged areas were a key part of the cessation of hostilities deal brokered by the US and Russia seven days ago.
But the Syrian military and rebels have accused each other of violating the truce.
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Monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the aid trucks were hit near the town of Urm al-Kubra by Syrian or Russian warplanes.
Details are unclear, but a civil defence volunteer said rescue efforts at the scene were continuing.
Earlier, air strikes were reported to have resumed on Aleppo and other cities after the Syrian military declared the seven-day "regime of calm" at an end.
It said rebel groups, which it referred to as "terrorists", had failed to commit to any provisions of the truce deal.
Destroyed buildings in the city of Aleppo. 18 Sept 2017Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Large parts of Aleppo have been destroyed by years of fighting
The US, which brokered the cessation of violence along with Russia, said it was working to extend the agreement, but called on Russia to clarify the Syrian statement.
"Our arrangement is with Russia, which is responsible for the Syrian regime's compliance, so we expect Russia to clarify their position," state department spokesman John Kirby said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry criticised the Syrian declaration, saying: "It would be good if they didn't talk first to the press but if they talked to the people who are actually negotiating this."
He had earlier described the truce as "holding but fragile".
The US and Russia are to hold further talks on the Syrian situation in New York on Tuesday, the state department added.
Map of Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes had hit rebel-held areas in Aleppo and villages to the west.
A correspondent with AFP news agency in the city said artillery shelling and air strikes hit Sukkari and Amiriyah, two eastern districts.
Government-backed air strikes were also reported in the city of Homs and in the cities of Hama and Idlib.
'Pained and disappointed'
The cessation agreement included deliveries of humanitarian aid for the worst hit areas, but by Monday most shipments had yet to go in.
They include a 20-lorry convoy for rebel-held eastern Aleppo where about 275,000 civilians are trapped without access to food or medical supplies.
UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien said he was "pained and disappointed" that the convoy had yet to cross into Syria from Turkey.
Aid delivery arrives in rebel-held town of Talbisseh on northern outskirts of Homs on September 19, 2016Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
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Most of the humanitarian aid agree under the deal has yet to be delivered
Some aid was delivered to the besieged town of Talbiseh in Homs province on Monday, the Red Cross said.
The truce was dealt a blow on Saturday when warplanes from the US-led coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS) bombed Syrian troops in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, apparently unintentionally.
Officials said the strikes killed more than 60 soldiers. President Bashar al-Assad called them the "latest example of flagrant American aggression against Syrian army positions in the interests of the terrorist organisation Daesh [IS]".
On Monday, the UK confirmed that British aircraft - believed to be unmanned, remotely-piloted Reaper drones - had been involved in the strike, along with jets from Australia and Denmark.