PHOTO: Assad regime’s delegation addresses journalists in Geneva on Wednesday
LATEST
- 2nd Day of Fighting Between Kurdish Police and Pro-Assad Forces in Qamishli
- 100,000+ Now Trapped in Northern Aleppo Near Turkish Border
- Regime Drops “Surrender Now” Leaflets on Northern Homs
The Assad regime has dismissed the opposition-rebel bloc’s suspension of involvement in the Geneva talks seeking a political resolution of Syria’s five-year conflict.
The opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee said on Tuesday that it is formally withdrawing from discussions because of the regime’s continued bombing, sieges, and detentions, as well as Assad’s refusal to discuss his future and a transitional governing authority. However, some negotiators will remain in Geneva for informal contact with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura.
The head of the regime delegation, Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari, assured on Wednesday after a meeting with de Mistura’s deputy Ramzi Ezzedine Ramzi:
The talks will not lose anything, because they do not represent the Syrian people to begin with. Quite the contrary; maybe by them leaving they will take away major obstacles and that will allow us to reach a solution, because these are a mix of extremists, terrorists, and mercenaries at the beck and call of the [Saudi royal al-Saud family.
He maintained, “There are several [opposition] groups that are present and support having the dialogue continue.”
The Assad regime and Russia have tried to put forth an alternative negotiating group through a combination of Syrian domestic politicians who are close to Moscow, and with the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party (PYD).
The domestic politicians, such as former Minister Qadri Jamil and the Movement for a Pluralistic Society’s Randa Kassis, have limited influence outside their acceptance by the regime and Moscow. The PYD and its military branch YPG have become a leading force in the Kurdish movement, but they are opposed by Turkey, which believes they are dominated by the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK.
Ja’afari criticized the UN and de Mistura for “not treat[ing] all factions of the Syrian opposition on an equal footing”, saying this was “one of the problematic structure-related issues spotted since the first round of the talks”.
The ambassador also maintained the regime’s refusal to negotiate a transitional governing authority, a central element of international proposals since 2012, or of a new Constitution. He said, “Our mandate here in Geneva stops at reaching the point of forming an expanded national unity government” which will maintain Assad in power.
Ja’afari effectively dismissed de Mistura’s proposals, circulated last week after previous rounds of discussions, and the UN Security Council resolution behind them: “[These] can only be taken as a road map and not a schedule.”
2nd Day of Fighting Between Kurdish Police and Pro-Assad Forces in Qamishli
[UPDATE: The Kurdish Hawar News is reporting that a woman was killed and 20 people injured in Syrian Army shelling of a Qamishli neighborhood on Thursday.
There are claims from both pro-regime and pro-Kurdish accounts of advances in the city and near the airport.]
Fighting is continuing between Kurdish police and pro-Assad forces in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, according to both pro-Kurdish and pro-regime activists.
The clashes started on Wednesday after the arrest of an NDF commander by the Kurdish police, the Asayish. When the NDF detained several Asayish, the police opened fire on the militia. Fighting was concentrated near the Allya prison, with each side trying to take control.
By Wednesday evening, reports said eight pro-Assad National Defense Forces had been killed. Six Kurdish police were dead and 14 wounded, and four civilians were slain.
The NDF have been joined in the fight by Assyrian Gozarto Protection Force, also called the Sootoro.
Despite long-time tension between the Assad regime and the mainly-Kurdish population, control of Qamishli has been shared by Kurdish forces, the Syrian army, and the NDF since 2012.
Footage of the fighting:
Kurdish forces remove the Syrian regime flag from Allya Prison:
Claimed photo of 18 men taken from the prison by the Kurdish militia and reportedly transferred to a Kurdish police station:
Image of the damaged prison:
A tour of the facility:
100,000+ Now Trapped in Northern Aleppo Near Turkish Border
More than 100,000 Syrians are now displaced and trapped near the Turkish border, following their flight in recent weeks from fighting between rebels and the Islamic State in northern Aleppo Province.
About 30,000 more civilians fled last week, adding to crowded camps along the border. Some people are sleeping in the open since “all the schools and abandoned buildings are filled with people spread out among the trees and in gardens”, according to Alaa Abu Umr of the Azaz Media Office.
The Turkish Government closed the crossing at Bab al-Salama more than a year ago.
Abu Umr said little aid is reaching the displaced because people “have spread out to the point that humanitarian organizations don’t even know where they are and are unable to reach them”.
See also Syria Feature: “Jordan Stranding 50,000 Refugees Near Border”
Rebels and the Islamic State have fought in northern Aleppo since January 2014, but the battles have escalated in the last two months, with territory being swapped back-and-forth.
(Map: Syria Direct)
The latest flight of about 30,000 people was spurred by the Islamic State’s capture of three displaced persons’ camps last week. Rebels regains the area, but fighting continues.
Regime Drops “Surrender Now” Leaflets on Northern Homs
The Syrian air force, which has been bombing opposition-held areas in northern Homs Province, has dropped thousands of “Surrender Now” leaflets, according to pro-regime activists.
The opposition has held a pocket of territory, including the town of Rastan, since 2012. Despite the February 27 cessation of hostilities, regime warplanes have continued bombardment to weaken rebel defenses.
The pro-regime outlet Al-Masdar declares on Thursday, “The Syrian Arab Army is preparing for another large-scale offensive in the northern countryside of the Homs Governorate after several unsuccessful attempts to break into the strategic city of Al-Rastan near the Hama border.”
