PHOTO: UN envoy Staffan de Mistura “Now is not the moment to restart talks”

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The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has announced an indefinite delay in political talks in Geneva.

De Mistura said on Thursday that no talks will be held until all sides agree the parameters for a political transition.

He said that a series of “low-profile” technical meetings will be held in various cities to discuss issues such as the role of the Syrian army and national institutions after any agreement:

I have informed the Security Council just a few days ago….The time is not yet mature for the official third round of the intra-Syrian talks.

Why? Because we are aware that a third round needs to be a concrete one.

The first two rounds of talks, in January-February and in April, made no progress. President Assad effectively ruled out negotiations in late March, when he rejected a transitional governing authority, the center of international proposals since 2012.

The talks were also doomed by the regime’s refusal to halt bombing, end sieges, and release political detainees — all fundamental conditions set by the opposition-rebel bloc.

De Mistura said last week that, while the third round had been postponed, he hoped to bring the two sides together later this month.

Instead, the political focus has been on whether aid could be arranged for long-besieged areas across Syria.

The International Syrian Support Group — 17 countries, the UN, European Union, and Arab League — mandated assistance, including airdrops, if the Assad regime did not allow access by June 1. However, De Mistura and UN officials stepped back from the commitment, saying the consent of the regime was necessary for any delivery.

The UN subsequently set a target of June 10 for the regime to permit aid by land.

Aid Convoy Reaches Besieged Darayya, Then Bombs Fall

The Syrian regime has resumed bombing hours after an aid convoy with food arrived in Darayya, 12 km (7.5 miles) southwest of Damascus, which has been cut off since November 2012.

The convoy arrived early Friday morning:

The Darayya Local Council said nine trucks reached the town, which still has an estimated 4,000-8,000 residents. The UN’s World Food Program said 480 food parcels would provide for about 2,400 people.

Facing international pressure, the Assad regime initially said it would permit aid in mid-May to Darayya. However, the Syrian military blocked a convoy on the outskirts. Residents were then shelled, killed two and injuring five, and pro-Assad forces subsequently carried out aerial and ground attacks in an attempt to overrun the town.

Last week, five trucks finally made it into Darayya as the international community’s June 1 deadline passed. However, the convoy had no food and parcels were half-empty, possibly because — as has been common with deliveries — medical supplies and equipment were stolen before arrival.

See Syria Daily, June 2: A Token Shipment of Aid to Besieged Darayya

Soon after the convoy departed, Syrian warplanes resumed attacks, with pro-opposition accounts reporting more than 20 barrel bombs as well as artillery shelling.

Syrian Army Advances v. ISIS in Raqqa Province

The Syrian military has advanced farther in Raqqa Province, adding to the pressure on the Islamic State.

The Syrian Army and militias reached the Sfaiyeh crossroad, about 20 km (12.5 miles) south of Taqba airbase.

The advance was reportedly led by Syrian marines and the private militia Desert Hawks Brigade, supported by the 555th Regiment of the 4th Mechanized Division. Pro-regime accounts said the troops also took the Safiyeh oil field and electrical station.

Pro-Assad troops are in Raqqa Province for the first time since the Islamic State overran the Taqba airbase in 2014.

The advance comes as ISIS is facing the offensive of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on its main position in Aleppo Province, the city of Manbij (see below).

Footage of the advancing Desert Hawks in Raqqa Province:

LCC: 84 Deaths on Thursday

The Local Coordination Committees documented 84 deaths on Thursday, including those of 13 children and nine women.

Of the casualties, 52 were in Aleppo Province amid continuing Russian and regime airstrikes on or near Aleppo city. Another 15 were in Idlib Province.

Leading Rebel Commander Assassinated by ISIS Suicide Bomber

A rebel commander in southern Syria has been killed by an Islamic State suicide bomber.

Saleem Bakour, a colonel who defected from the Syrian army, was assassinated by an infiltrator into his heavily guarded base in the desert near the Jordanian-Iraqi border. The commander was buried in Jordan’s capital Amman on Thursday.

Bakour was a founder of the Southern Front rebel bloc and a member of the opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee. Rebel sources say he led the fight in April to repel ISIS attacks in the Dumayr area, northeast of Damascus.

Kurds-Led Force Cuts Off Islamic State in Manbij

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have effectively cut off the Islamic State in Manbij, ISIS’s main position in Aleppo Province.

An SDF spokesman said on Thursday that fighters have reached the last road into Manbij from the west, after earlier cutting off supply routes from the north, south, and east.

SDF units have established “fire control” with positions within a kilometer of the road.

The SDF — led by the Kurdish militia YPG but including some Arab units — began its advance on Manbij last week. It is supported by US airstrikes, special forces, arms, and ammunition. France confirmed on Thursday that it has also deployed special forces with the offensive.

Video: Russian-Regime Airstrike on Civil Defense Center

Aftermath of a Russian-regime airstrike on Thursday on a civil defense center in Kafr Halab in Aleppo Province — two volunteers were injured:

Russian and Syrian warplanes have carried out a systematic campaign of bombing on or near medical facilities since Moscow’s aerial intervention last autumn, with more than 40 hospitals, clinics, medical warehouses, and civil defense headquarters struck.

In April, a Russian-regime strike on a civil defense center in Atareb, west of Aleppo, killed five White Helmets rescuers.