US, Russia reach deal on ceasefire in Syria's Aleppo

An Consensus has been extend with Russia to extend a ceasefire in Syria to Aleppo district, including the besieged city of Aleppo, the US State Department said.

The expansion go into result on Wednesday just later midnight in Damascus (02:00 GMT), the State Department say, noting an "overall decrease in violence" since then despite some continuous fighting.

"Since this go into effect today at 00:01 in Damascus, we have seen an overall decrease in violence in these areas," spokesman Mark Toner said.

The Syrian army established the ceasefire, saying there would be a "regime of calm" in Aleppo for 48 hours, Russian ambassador to the United Nation Vitaly Churkin told the UN Security Council.

Al Jazeera's R. Jordan, announce from Washington DC, said that the statement was delayed because "officials wanted to see how long it would take for the ceasefire to come into effect".

"They decided to announce it now because they believe that the ceasefire is holding," Jordan said.

The US is coordinating with Russia to finalise monitoring efforts for the ceasefire and calls on all parties to abide by the agreement.

"We look to Russia as a co-chair of the International Syria Support Group to press for the Assad regime's compliance with this effort, and the United States will do its part with the opposition," the State Department statement said.

'War crimes, crimes against humanity'

The United country Humanitarian event chief Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security Council that the killing of civilians in Aleppo "cannot and will not be forgotten", warning that perpetrators will be held accountable.

O'Brien gave a rundown of deadly incidents in which residential district, medical facilities and ambulances were earmark by government war planes and non-state shelling.

"Some of these acts amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," O'Brien said in New York.

Activists and rebels said at least 250 people have been killed in the fighting in Aleppo in the past 10 days.

On Wednesday, dozens of people were killed in a day-long battle in western Aleppo that was still going on intermittently, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and sources on both sides said.

Sources loyal to the Syrian government gave conflicting accounts of the outcome of the battle that began early on Tuesday in and around the Jamiat al-Zahraa area of western Aleppo.

A rebel told AP report agency that soldier had managed to take some ground from the government side, while the army said the attack was repelled.

Aid conveyance blocked

UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said on Wednesday that the Syrian government had refused UN demands to deliver aid to hundreds of thousands of people, including many in violence-torn Aleppo.

Aleppo has see fierce violence between the warring sides in the past pair weeks later government power began targeting the city.

"We seem to be having new possible besieged areas on our watch, we are having hundreds of relief workers unable to move in Aleppo," Egeland told journalist on Wednesday later chairing a weekly meeting of nations supporting the Syria peace process.

"It is a shame to see that while the population of Aleppo is bleeding, their alternative to flee have never been more difficult than now."