The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) - a group of world powers that includes the U.S., Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - reached an agreement to implement a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" in Syria...

Besieged and Hard-to-Reach Regions  Syria: February 12, 2016 By Christopher Kozak The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) - a group of world powers that includes the U.S., Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - reached an agreement to implement a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" in Syria during their most recent meeting in Munich, Germany on February 11, 2016. The "cessation of hostilities" will face significant hurdles, including the lack of a clear enforcement mechanism and the prospect of continued attacks by ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), and other irreconcilable groups. The ISSG also agreed to secure immediate humanitarian access to six besieged locations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The demands for renewed deliveries of humanitarian supplies nonetheless include only a fraction of the civilian populations across Syria in need of assistance. This map overlays current zones of control in Syria with publicly-available data on besieged and hard-to-reach populations as released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).        Read this update online   ISW will continue updating on the situation at www.understandingwar.org  as well as on our Twitter handle @TheStudyofWar