Opposition groups have accused the government of "continued violations" of a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey. Moscow has pushed forward with a UN Security Council resolution aimed at sanctioning the ceasefire.
Image: Dona Bozzi/Pacific Press/picture-alliance
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A collective of Syrian rebel groups on Saturday announced it would consider a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey "null and void" if Syrian government forces continued to violate its terms.
"Continued violations by the regime and the bombardment and attempts to attack areas under the control of the revolutionary factions will make the agreement null and void," the rebels groups said in a statement.
The statement noted that government forces backed by Russian and Iranian forces had advanced into rebel-held areas, particularly areas near Damascus.
According the rebel groups, it appears the opposition and government signed two different versions, one of them missing "a number of key and essential points that are non-negotiable."
While the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) was not included in the ceasefire, the Syrian rebel groups said the former al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Nusra Front, rebranded as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, had been considered as one of the opposition groups among the deal.
The rebels' statement contradicts the Syrian military, which on Thursday said the former al-Qaeda affiliate had not been named among the opposition groups.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an independent monitor that utilizes a nationwide network of on-the-ground informants, said on Saturday that the ceasefire has largely held across the country, although clashes and airstrikes have persisted in some parts.
The long trip to Europe from the refugees' perspective
A boy who is soaking wet, volunteers entertaining children, moments of danger and of joy: #RefugeeCameras shows images taken during the journey to Europe. It is the subject of a new exhibition in Hamburg.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Leaving home - for good?
Zakaria received his camera on December 8 in Izmir, Turkey - one of the key hubs for refugees. The Syrian fled from the "Islamic State" terror militia and the government, according to McElvaney's #RefugeeCamera project. Out of safety concerns, Zakaria doesn't name his hometown. In his flight diary, Zakaria writes that only God knows if he will ever be able to return to Syria.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Rough dinghy ride
Zakaria documented his sea journey from Turkey to Chios. He was sitting in the back of his dinghy. At the Hamburg exhibition, which opens this weekend, the refugees' images will be complemented by a selection of shots taken by professionals, who helped to shape the representation of escape routes in the media. They all donated their works in order to support the project.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Perilous arrival
Hamza and Abdulmonem, both from Syria, photographed the perilous landing of their dinghy on a Greek island. There were no volunteers to offer them support. That is exactly what McElvaney had in mind when he launched #RefugeeCameras. So far, he says, the media have offered a "visual blank" in this respect.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Surviving the sea
After the landing, a young boy in wet clothes and life jacket stands on the pebbled beach. The image brings to mind Aylan Kurdi, the small Syrian boy whose lifeless body was washed ashore on a Turkish beach in September. The child in this picture made it to Europe alive. What became of him is not known.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Seven cameras returned
Hamza and Abdulmonem also took this slightly blurred snapshot of the refugee group taking a break. McElvaney handed out 15 disposable cameras in total. Seven of them were returned, one was lost, two were confiscated, two remain in Izmir, where their holders are still stranded. The remaining three cameras are unaccounted for - just like their owners.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Family in focus
Dyab, a math teacher from Syria, tried to capture some of the better moments of his journey to Germany. Pictured here are his wife and his young son, Kerim, who shows us the packet of biscuits he was given in a Macedonian refugee camp. The images reveal Dyab's deep affection for his son, McElvaney says: "He wants to take care of him, even on this arduous trip which he was forced to take."
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
From Iran to Hanau
The story of Saeed, from Iran, is a different one. The young man had to leave the country after converting to Christianity. He could have been arrested or even killed. In order to be accepted as a refugee, he pretended to be Afghan. After his arrival in Germany, he explained his situation to the authorities' satisfaction. He now lives - as an Iranian - in Hanau, Hesse.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Beyond selfies
Saeed took this picture of a Syrian father and his child on a bus from Athens to Idomeni.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
More than status
In another snapshot taken by Saeed, a volunteer working in a refugee camp somewhere between Croatia and Slovenia entertains a group of children, who try to imitate his tricks.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
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Russia's move
In the wake of the government's victory in Aleppo, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he would reduce Moscow's military contingent in Syria. Russia entered the conflict in September 2015 in a bid to bolster the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key regional ally.
Meanwhile, Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said the UN Security Council would vote on a resolution aimed at sanctioning the ceasefire in Syria and peace talks scheduled for January in Kazakhstan.
Steffan de Mistura, the UN's Syria envoy, said the talks should aim to complement the UN-brokered peace talks, which have failed to mediate a political solution to the nearly 6-year-old conflict.
Churkin said the draft resolution had been amended after UN member states on the Security Council reviewed it on Friday, adding that he expects them to "adopt it unanimously."
More than 300,000 people have been killed and half the population displaced since the conflict erupted in 2011, when government forces launched a bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters calling for Assad to step down.
