Saudi Arabia accuses Russia, Syria of ceasefire violations, while US admits bombing militants

Saudi Arabia on Sunday accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government and its ally Russia of “ceasefire violations” in Syria.

“There are violations to the ceasefire from Russian and (Syrian) regime aircraft,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh.

“We are discussing this with [the 17-nation] Syria Support Group,” co-chaired by Russia and the United States, said Jubeir.

READ MORE: Turkey continues strikes on Kurdish militia in Syria despite Washington’s call for restraint ahead of planned ceasefire

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that several air strikes hit central and northern Syria on Sunday.

Warplanes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bombed seven villages in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, the monitor said.

At the same time, the US and its allies conducted 24 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Saturday, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement on Sunday.

In Syria, near Tel Abyad, 10 strikes destroyed 23 Islamic State buildings, eight fighting positions used by the group, a rocket fire position and other targets. Strikes near Ar Raqqah and Manbij destroyed two buildings and struck an improvised weapons assembly area, it said.

Also, the Russian military operating in Syria said Turkey launched an artillery attack on the Syrian border town of Tell Abyad.