Our United Nations representative says the situation in Syria is not as simple as good guys versus bad.

A ceasefire in Aleppo has lasted less than 24 hours, leaving thousands of people trapped in the rebel-held part of the city.

New Zealand representative at the United Nations, Gerard van Bohemen, told Mike Hosking a good guy in Syria could be a bad guy another day.

"Certainly Assad is not looking too good from anyone's perspective, but the people opposing him are a mixture of people with different ambitions and are often at conflict with each other."

Gerard van Bohemen said the harsh reality is, that Syria's president Bashar al-Assad may have to stay for a while in order to get an outcome because he won't go voluntarily at this point.

LISTEN AS GERARD VAN BOHEMEN SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING ABOVE