Communication Breakdown: Syrian ceasefire hotline workers can't speak Arabic

Workers manning a US hotline to report violations of the Syrian ceasefire could not understand callers flagging breaches, the State Department admitted on Wednesday.

State Department employees who are not Arabic speakers man the hotline that was set up to monitor the temporary cessation of hostilities in Syria between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and rebels.

One US official mistook "Harbnifsah" - a frontline village - for "Harb Bebsi" or "Pepsi War" according to non-profit news organisation "Syria Direct".

A reporter with the organisation who called the hotline said the call was answered by an American who was struggling to understand Arabic.

"I'm like, why is this American guy on the phone who can't speak Arabic?" said Syria Direct reporter Orion Wilcox.

Wilcox then switched to English and asked the hotline operator how he could effectively document events without understanding all the Arabic.

"The operator answered that other people were working the hotline, declined to comment further and hung up," according to Syria Direct.

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner admitted that hotline staff - "some of whom speak Arabic" - had had some difficulties.

"We are aware that there were some language issues, and we're working to correct those, because it's important that we have Arabic speakers that are able to field incoming calls," said Toner.

Toner emphasized that the monitors were volunteers "who are doing this in addition to their usual jobs."

A ceasefire was declared in Syria's almost five-year civil war on Saturday, but there have already been many reports of violations.

The United States, Russia and countries in the International Syria Support Group have set up a network of monitoring centers to probe the reports.

The White House said Wednesday it was "concerned" about claims that Bashar al-Assad's regime is again bombarding civilians with tank and artillery fire.