U.N. forced to halt planned humanitarian work under Syria ceasefire deal

The United Nations has been forced to suspend planned humanitarian operations in Syria under a ceasefire agreement due to a surge of military activities, a spokeswoman for U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Friday. Aid activities, including evacuations of wounded, had been planned in Zabadani, a town surrounded by pro-government forces near the Lebanon border, and in rebel-besieged Shi'ite villages in the northwestern province of Idlib (Foua and Kefraya) in the deal agreed with U.N.