Aid agencies on standby for ceasefire due to start at sunset

Aid agencies are preparing to send food and medical supplies to the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, with a ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US due to begin at sunset on Monday. 

Turkey said more than 30 aid trucks, under UN supervision, were ready to deliver humanitarian supplies to the city, amid hopes that the proposed truce will secure a rare lull in a war that has killed almost 600.000 people and displaced millions from their homes. 

“Today after sunset, whether it is the UN or our Red Crescent, they will send food, toys and clothing to the people, mainly in Aleppo, through the predetermined corridors,” Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, told reporters. 

 “The indications are certainly that there is a better short-term chance of a decent lull in the fighting than has ever happened before. The degree of Russian engagement seems to be of a much greater order than of any of the previous ceasefire attempts.” 

 He said aid agencies had been given assurances at the highest level that they would be able to deliver aid over the next week if all sides complied with the agreement. 

The proposed truce was announced on Saturday after marathon talks by the Russian and US foreign ministers. 

Under the terms of the agreement, the opposition and the Syrian government are expected to stop attacking one another, though the regime can continue to strike at ISIS and other Jihadi groups.