Germany urges Assad regime to stop bombing civilians

BERLIN

Germany has sharply criticized the Syrian regime on Friday for targeting civilians with airstrikes hours before a temporary cease-fire was set to start.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern over the future of the cease-fire in Syria, and urged all parties to refrain from any step that could endanger the truce deal.

“Recent reports indicating that the Syrian regime has dropped barrel bombs on the city of Darraya [southwest of capital Damascus] is a source of great concern for us,” Steinmeier said in Berlin.

“We are urging the Syrian regime to stop attacks on the civilian population. We are calling all parties to refrain from steps that might endanger the truce shortly before it comes into effect,” he stressed.

Steinmeier noted that all major parties in the conflict had made statements expressing their commitment to a temporary truce starting on Saturday.

“We hope that this will come into effect tonight as planned,” he said.

Earlier this week, U.S. and Russia announced a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria that is scheduled to take effect at midnight Friday local time.

Daesh and al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, are excluded from the agreement.

The UN hopes to be able to deliver aid to the besieged areas during the temporary cease-fire.

More than 400,000 Syrians are living in besieged areas with little or no access to basic supplies, according to the estimations of the UN.

According to the UN figures released several months ago, more than 250,000 have been killed since the Syrian war began in 2011.