LATEST: UN: No Aid to Besieged Yarmouk in Month

Syria’s State news agency SANA features regime proclamations of peace in towns “cleared of terrorists”, with residents able to return to their homes.

The Governor of Homs Province (pictured) toured the town of al-Hosn, west of Homs city, on Tuesday. Talal al-Barazi said the area — which includes the 12th-century castle Krak des Chevaliers — had been cleared of explosive devices and weapons caches, and he claimed a three-month plan will rehabilitate infrastructure and restore services.

The Governor of Latakia Province, meeting the Armenian Ambassador to Syria, claimed on Tuesday that efforts to restore normal life in the town of Kassab, on the Turkish border, were underway.

Ahmad Sheikh Abdelqader suggested that Armenia could provide aid to restore Kassab, which has a large Armenian population, “particularly in light of the economic embargo imposed on Syria”.

Abdelqader claimed 70% of infrastructure had been been restored in Kassab, which was held by insurgents from late March until mid-June.

Despite the regime’s proclamations, insurgents continue to hold much of Syrian territory and are pressing their advantage in certain areas. Significant attacks have been carried out this week in Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib Provinces, although news is limited by an insurgent embargo during operations.


UN: No Aid to Besieged Yarmouk in Month

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has warned that assistance is not being delivered to the besieged Yarmouk camp in Damascus, despite a purported cease-fire deal.

“It is now a month since we last distributed aid inside the camp,” spokesperson Chris Gunness said. “Following reports of a 21 June agreement…inside Yarmouk, UNRWA is urgently seeking the resumption and expansion of its humanitarian activities inside (the camp), where conditions remain dire for the 18,000 civilians trapped there.”

The Syrian regime has allowed only sporadic aid into the area, which had 200,000 people at the start of the conflict in March 2011, since it imposed a siege in July 2013.

“UNRWA will continue to advocate for continuous, substantial and safe humanitarian access to Yarmouk, and to ensure the protection of Palestinian and Syrian civilians,” Gunness said.

Insurgents to Opposition Leadership: Give Us Aid Within Week v. Islamic State or We Lay Down Arms

Insurgent factions in northern and eastern Syria, locked in battle with the Islamic State since January, have issued an ultimatum for aid from umbrella opposition movements to fight the Iraqi-led group.

“We, the leaders of the brigades and battalions…give the National Coalition, the interim government, the Supreme Military Council and all the leading bodies of the Syrian revolution a week to send reinforcements and complete aid,” the groups said.

They warned, “Should our call not be heard, we will lay down our weapons and pull out our fighters.”

The Islamic State has made advances in eastern Syria in recent weeks, putting pressure on towns and cities like Mayadin and Deir Ez Zor.