PHOTO: Mohammad Alloush of the opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee at the Geneva talks in March (Reuters)


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Audio Analysis: Why Did Opposition-Rebel Negotiator Alloush Resign Now?
Analysis: A New US-Backed Rebel Front in South v. ISIS? Not Quite.


The lead negotiator of Syria’s opposition-rebel bloc said on Sunday that he is quitting over the failure of UN-brokered political talks in Geneva.

Mohammad Alloush, a senior official of the rebel faction Jaish al-Islam, said:

The peace talks failed to stop the bloodshed of our people, failed to secure the release of thousands of detainees or to push Syria towards a political transition without [President] al-Assad and his criminal gang.

The International Community need to put serious pressure on Russia and Assad to stop the killing of our people.

The “last nail in the coffin”, according to a source, was the UN’s retreat from a commitment to airdrop aid by June 1 to besieged areas.

Audio Analysis: Why Did Opposition-Rebel Negotiator Alloush Resign Now?

Alloush disseminated his statement on Twitter:

Brokered by the UN after an effort led by Russian and the US, the talks reconvened in Geneva in late January. with three sets of discussions up to mid-April. However, the talks failed to bring direct contact between the opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee and a regime delegation.

The HNC warned that it would suspend discussions if bombing continued and sieges were not lifted, but the Assad regime continued airstrikes and tightened blockades in April.

In late March, Assad rejected any consideration of a transitional governing authority, the central element of international proposals since 2012.

Last week, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura delayed an announcement of the resumption of talks, saying he did not expect them for two or three weeks.

De Mistura also pulled back from the commitment, backed by the International Syria Support Group, to begin the aerial provision of aid: “For airdrops to become concrete either by delivery at high altitude or by helicopters, there is a need for the cooperation of the government of Syria.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry discussed the situation by phone on Sunday. It did not refer to the political talks, but declared:

Sergei Lavrov once again stressed the necessity of the soonest closure of Syria’s border with Turkey from where infiltration of militants continue and of Washington’s keeping its promise to dissociate Syrian opposition groups with whom it has contacts from Jabha al-Nusra terrorists, who are not covered by the ceasefire.

Without noting the Assad regime’s continued bombing and sieges, the Ministry said, “The sides agreed to invigorate work with all of the Syrian parties and with all the countries concerned to have them obey by the resolutions of the International Syria Support Group and United Nations Security Council resolutions 2254 and 2268.”


Reports: 20+ Killed in Regime Bombing of Idlib Hospitals

Reports are circulating that at least 20 people have been killed by multiple airstrikes on the National and Ibn Sina hospitals in opposition-held Idlib city in northwest Syria.

IDLIB HOSPITAL BOMBING 30-05-16


Report: Assad Forces Abduct Three Opposition Negotiators in Homs

Citing “special sources”, the pro-opposition Orient News claims that regime forces have abducted three opposition negotiators in the besieged al-Wa’er district of Homs city.

The sources said the negotiators were invited to a bakery on the outskirts of al-Wa’er for discussions. However, after no progress was made, they were taken to the State Security Intelligence building.

The last opposition-held district in Homs city, al-Wa’er has been bombarded and blockade despite a December 2015 “truce” agreement. On Sunday, at least seven people — including three women and children — were killed by shelling and rockets (see earlier entry).


Opposition in Azaz Issues Urgent Appeal

The opposition in the border town of Azaz in northwest Syria, threatened by the Islamic State offensive and concerned over a possible advance by Kurdish-led forces, has issued an urgent appeal to the international community.

The opposition representatives cited “critical conditions” and “the brink of a disaster” while the international Community “cares about nothing but their own regional interests” despite threat to tens of thousands of residents and displaced Syrians.

Requesting an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, they implored international officials to “make actual moves to protect [these] areas and exclude them from any political agendas”.


Maneuvers and Rumors Over Kurdish Advance in Northern Aleppo Province

The advance of Kurdish-led forces in northern Aleppo Province, compounding pressure on rebels by an Islamic State offensive, has brought new political maneuvers and claims on Monday.

With rebels facing Islamic State attacks that cut the link between the opposition towns of Mare’ and Azaz, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were able to reach a deal to occupy Sheikh Issa, just to the west of Mare’ and south of Azaz.

Kurdish officials said the SDF, headed by the Kurdish militia YPG, was invited into Sheikh Issa to arrange the evacuation of civilians. Pro-rebel activists claim that the Free Syrian Army was forced to hand over the town to the dissident rebel faction Jaish al-Thuwar, which allied with the YPG last year.

Some activists claim that the YPG has now given an ultimatum to rebels to let the Syrian Democratic Forces in Mare’, on the frontline of the rebel battle with ISIS since early 2014.

Turkey has responded with the offer to join the US in ground operations provided the YPG is not involved.

“If we join forces, they (the US) have their own special forces and we have our special forces,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told journalists.

Çavuşoğlu said the Islamic State should be pushed out of an area around the town of Manbij, an idea proposed by the SDF since December: “We say okay, a second front should be opened but not with the PYD,” the Kurdish Democratic Union party overseeing the YPG militia.

However, the Turkish proposal has already been overtaken by the claim of the Syrian opposition that the SDF is conniving with the Assad regime over an offensive against Raqqa, the Islamic State’s center in northern Syria.

The opposition site Zaman al-Wasl said, from a “well-informed source”, that SDF and regime official have been meeting in Hasakah in eastern Syria to discuss coordination.

The source said a deal has been held up because both the SDF wants control of Raqqa city as well as other parts of Raqqa Province.

Zaman al-Wasl claimed that official SDF spokesperson Talal Silou told a pro-Assad radio station, “The focus now is on liberating Raqqa and later we will negotiate its destiny with the regime.”


69 Killed on Sunday Amid “Hundreds” of Russian-Regime Strikes Near Aleppo

The Local Coordination Committees document the deaths of 69 people across Syria on Sunday.

Of the victims, 46 were in Aleppo Province amid intense Russian and regime airstrikes north of Aleppo city.

For weeks, Russian and regime warplanes have tried to enable a ground offensive to take over the main route into opposition-controlled areas of the city, but so far the assaults have been repelled.

Activists say that hundreds of strikes — including cluster bombs, barrel bombs, and naval mines — have been carried out since Friday.

Targets north of Aleppo include Hreitan — where more than 20 people were killed over the weekend — Anadan, Hayan, and Kafr Hamra.

Airstrikes on Hayan:

White Helmets rescue sheep from bombing of Hreitan on Monday:

A report from Orient News on the bombing:


Photo: Men Carry Victim of Regime Shelling of al-Wa’er in Homs

Men carry a victim of Sunday’s regime shelling and rocket attacks on the besieged district of al-Wa’er in Homs city:

CASUALTY AL-WAER 29-05-16

The Local Coordination Committees say at least seven people, including three women and children, were killed and 25 wounded. Photos have been posted of the slain children.

A local journalist said that two White Helmets rescuers were injured when their ambulance was struck — reports on Sunday had said that they were killed.

See Sunday’s Syria Daily for earlier coverage

Despite a “truce” in December, the Syrian military has continued to bombard and blockade al-Wa’er, the last opposition-controlled section of Homs.


Suicide Bombing Kills 5 Rebels in Idlib Battalion HQ

A suicide bomber has detonated his explosives inside the headquarters of the al-Faruq battalion in Binnish in Idlib Province in northwest Syria, killing five rebels and wounding 15.

Video of the damage and casualties:

Last week, a small car bomb outside a mosque in opposition-controlled Idlib city killed five people and wounded more than 20 after Friday prayers.