Air strikes in Syria after US and Russia reach ceasefire truce

GRAPHIC CONTENT: Deadly violence raged in Syria, shortly after the US and Russia sealed a deal aimed at reducing violence in the war-torn country.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their joint news conference following their meeting to discuss the crisis in Syria, in Geneva, Switzerland. Picture: Kevin Lamarque.

DEADLY violence raged in several areas of Syria, shortly after the United States and Russia sealed an ambitious agreement aimed at reducing violence in the country and relaunching a UN-sponsored peace process.

At least 90 civilians were killed in a series of air strikes on Saturday on rebel-held areas in the provinces of Aleppo in northern Syria and Idlib in the northwest, a monitoring group reported.

The deadliest strikes were in Idlib, capital of the province of the same name, where they targeted a market, leaving 58 civilians including 13 children dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Two more civilians were killed in air strikes against rebel-controlled areas in the town of Jisr al-Shughur in the same province.

A Syrian civil defence member and a volunteer carry a little girl rescued a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood in Aleppo. Picture: Thaer Mohammed.

At least 30 civilians, including nine children, were killed in air bombardment of opposition-held areas in Aleppo and its western outskirts, according to the observatory.

The air strikes in Idlib and Aleppo are believed to have been mounted by government jets or those of allied Russia.

Aleppo, a major battleground in Syria’s conflict, has seen intensified fighting between government forces and the opposition in recent months, worsening the humanitarian situation there.

Activist Yasin Abu Raed, who is based in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, said the situation inside the local hospitals there is “miserable.”

“Most of the injured are in critical conditions due to severe injuries they have sustained and a shortage of surgeons,” Abu Raed told dpa via Facebook message.

A man carries the body of a child following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood in Aleppo. Picture: Ameer Alhalbi.

The surge in violence came hours after the US and Russia’s top diplomats announced the agreement after more than 12 hours of talks in Geneva.

The accord includes a truce to start across Syria at sunset on Monday, the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival.

The agreement envisages joint US-Russian military strikes against militant groups in Syria, including the Islamic State movement.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, emerging late on Friday in Geneva from talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said the deal could provide a “turning point” in Syria’s conflict if the parties implement it “in good faith.”

Russia is a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the US is supporting opposition forces fighting to oust him.

Syrian men remove a victim from the rubble of a building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood in Aleppo. Picture: Ameer Alhalbi.

Syria’s state news agency SANA said that the Geneva agreement had been reached “with full knowledge” of the Syrian government, which has approved it.

The Syrian opposition reacted with caution to the pact.

The High Negotiations Committee, an opposition umbrella coalition, welcomed the agreement but called on Russia to pressure al-Assad’s regime to comply with the deal.

In February, the US and Russia brokered a ceasefire that held for some time in most parts of Syria.

Later, the truce collapsed under pressure from localised fighting and a failed UN-backed political process to end the violence.

Syria’s conflict started with peaceful anti-government protests in March 2011.

It soon spiralled into a full-blown war that has claimed more than 250,000 lives, according to activists’ estimates.