BBC News
The UN is poised to begin delivering aid to people living in besieged areas of Syria, making use of a truce brokered by the US and Russia.
Its first deliveries are planned for Monday, with aid due to reach about 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas over the next five days. The UN hopes to help an estimated 1.7 million people by the end of March.
Saturday's long-awaited truce appears to be holding despite complaints of breaches from both sides. A key Syrian opposition group said the situation was much better. Before the truce, Western powers accused Russia of attacking moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; Moscow says it only targets UN-designated terrorist groups.
Against the odds: analysis by Mark Lowen. BBC News, Gaziantep, near the Turkey/Syria border
AFP
This is now a crucial window of opportunity for the UN to get food and aid to the besieged. The truce does, in general, remain intact despite both the Western-backed opposition and regime sides complaining of dozens of violations over the weekend, including air strikes around Aleppo.
But it is unclear whether the target was the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra front, which would not constitute a ceasefire breach since it and so-called Islamic State are not included in the deal.
A rebel spokesman talked of violations "here and there" but a situation much better than before. Moscow also complained of incidents but said on the whole, the ceasefire was being implemented.
That it has largely held for the weekend has defied expectations but there is still a lot of scepticism that it can continue for the full two weeks.
Reuters
Reuters
AP
EPA
Children in the city of Aleppo went to schools on Monday without hugging walls for fear of attacks, AFP news agency reported.
"Our teachers used to forbid us from going out to the school yard because of the air strikes but today we went out and played," said Ranim, 10, a pupil in a rebel-held area of Aleppo.
UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Syria Yacoub el-Hillo called the truce "the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability".
The organisation plans to use the lull to deliver food, water and medicine to six towns this week, Reuters news agency reports:
- The first delivery will go to rebel-held Muadhamiya, south-west of Damascus, on Monday
- Rebel-held Madaya, where residents have reportedly been starving to death, and three other towns - rebel-held Zabadani and government-held Kefraya and Foah - will receive aid on Wednesday
- Aid will be sent to rebel-held Kafr Batna on Friday.
The UN says it needs the approval of Syria's warring parties before it can further expand its deliveries.
Efforts to deliver aid to Islamic State-besieged Deir al-Zour by air last week failed when several pallets were damaged, disappeared or landed in no-man's land.
"Primarily we will try to deliver food by land because that is the most efficient way, it's the way that we can deliver the largest amounts of food but there are some areas of the country where we can't get across the front line," Greg Barrow, a spokesman for the UN World Food Programme, told the BBC.
Almost 500,000 people are living under siege in Syria, the UN estimates.
The cessation of hostilities was agreed as part of a plan by the US and Russia, who have backed opposing sides in Syria's civil war.
It does not apply to the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) or the Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda.
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The main Syrian opposition grouping has complained of several violations of the ceasefire by the government side, which is supported by Russia.
The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said it would be sending a formal letter of complaint about the breaches to the UN and other world powers.
However, it added that, despite violations "here and there", it was "positive to see people getting relief… to be safe, and free from fear".
Russia also complained of several breaches but said "on the whole, the ceasefire regime in Syria" was being implemented.
UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several air strikes had pounded northern Aleppo province but it did not say who was responsible.
It is hoped the cessation will pave the way for a formal ceasefire.
UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has said peace talks will resume on 7 March if the truce "largely holds".
APSyria's civil war
Why is there a war in Syria?
Anti-government protests developed into a civil war that, four years on, has ground to a stalemate, with the Assad government, Islamic State, an array of Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters all holding territory.
What's the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured. Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes, of whom four million have fled abroad - including growing numbers who are making the dangerous journey to Europe.
How has the world reacted?
Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement are supporting the Alawite-led Assad government, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the more moderate Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France. Hezbollah and Iran have pro-Assad forces on the ground, while Russia and a Western-led coalition are carrying out air strikes.
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