PHOTO: US Secretary of State John Kerry with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, March 24, 2016

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Seeking a political resolution of Syria’s five-year crisis, Russia and the US are drafting a new constitution, according to three Western and Russian diplomats.

A Western diplomat said the joint efforts are at an early stage, with Moscow’s current proposals closer to the Assad regime’s position, said one Western diplomat.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said after talks in the Kremlin on March 24 that the U.S agreed with Russia on a target of August to create a framework for a political transition and a draft constitution.

The opposition-rebel group expressed its opposition to a process for a new constitution that is led by Washington and Moscow.

“The Syrian constitution belongs to the Syrian people, not the U.S. or Russia,” said spokeswoman Farah al-Atassi. “When we form the transitional governing body with full executive powers, we will appoint Syrian lawyers, judges and experts to draft a new constitution.”

In November, the International Syria Support Group declared a process for a transitional governing authority within six months. This would lead to internationally-supervised elections under a new constitution a year later.

However, talks in Geneva have been slow to advance, with the opposition-rebel HNC and the regime delegation have yet to meet face-to-face. In late March, President Assad rejected any transitional authority, a centerpiece of international efforts since 2012.

The negotiations, brokered by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, are scheduled to resume on April 13.

Rebels and Nusra Make Another Push on Southern Aleppo Front

Rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra have made another push on the front south of Aleppo city, attacking several villages.

Pro-rebel activists say the villages of Zaytan and Birnah have been taken.

Rebels and Nusra struck last Friday in a lightning offensive that reclaimed some of the territory captured by a regime-Iranian-Hezbollah ground assault, enabled by Russian airstrikes, from last October. Among the gains were the town of al-Eis on the Aleppo-to-Damascus highway.

The rebel-Nusra attacks are also nearing Khan Touman on the highway.

Jabhat al-Nusra image of armored vehicles moving to the front:

JABHAT AL-NUSRA ALEPPO FRONT 04-16

An Ahrar al-Sham tank near al-Khalidiya:

AHRAR SOUTH ALEPPO 04-16

Video: Rebels Advance Against ISIS on Damascus-to-Baghdad Highway

Rebels advancing against the Islamic State on the Damascus-to-Baghdad Highway, northeast of the capital:

Jaish al-Islam and other rebel factions are taking territory from ISIS in the midst of a three-way fight near the desert city of Dumayr and the eastern Qalamoun mountains.

While rebels are claiming success, the Syrian military has been trying to prevent an ISIS takeover of the Dumayr military airport near the city (see Friday’s entry).

Free Syrian Army fighters in the eastern Qalamoun mountains:

A pro-regime video insisting that there is no Islamic State threat to Dumayr military airport:

Only Dialysis Clinic in Opposition-Held Damascus Suburbs Suspends Operations

The only dialysis clinic in opposition-held Damascus suburbs suspended its operations on Thursday because of a lack of supplies for hemodialysis.

Dr. Khaled, a physician at the clinic in the East Ghouta area, said 18 people will be affected: “Without dialysis treatment these patients will die.”

A 65-year-old women who learned of the suspension this week said, “I feel as though I could die at any moment in the coming days.”

Last year the Syrian regime reached an agreement with the World Health Organization and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) to allow delivery of 2,000 rounds of dialysis treatment to Douma; however, so far only 1,100 rounds of treatment have reached the Damascus suburb in three deliveries, with the last 250 rounds arriving on February 13.

The Unified Medical Office in Douma called on humanitarian and international organizations to pressure the Assad so a year’s supply of dialysis rounds is provided.

Iran Foreign Minister: “With Russia, We Can Defeat Extremism”

Speaking to Russian State outlet TASS, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hailed an alliance forged by intervention in Syria’s conflict:

Iran and Russia are stronger together, we can in fact defeat extremism and contain extremism. We have made, with the sacrifice of the Syrian people, with the bravery of the Syrian Armed Forces, we have been able to defeat in many respects the advances of Daesh [the Islamic State] and al-Nusra.

Zarif said the rest of the world could learn from the Russian-Iranian example:

The international community will need to learn, particularly those who talk a lot, about fighting extremism, terrorism, need to learn that they need to be engaged, they need to be serious, they need to act rather than simply take political decisions in dealing with that.

Explosive Canister Kills 3 Boys in Besieged Madaya

Pro-opposition Orient News reports on three boys killed by an explosive canister in besieged Madaya in Damascus Province.

The site said brothers Ali and Wassim Dalati, 6 and 7 years old, and their friend Josef Ammar, 7, were on their way home from school on March 29. They passed a checkpoint usually manned by Hezbollah, where they often scavenged for scraps and cans of food, when they picked up a cylinder.

Frightened by a resident who yelled at them to drop the canister, the boys threw it to the ground and it exploded.

Josef, whose father was killed by a land mine in 2015 in nearby Zabadani, was killed immediately. Wassim lost his legs and died two hours later.

Ali suffered from a head injury and abdominal bleeding. Requests for his medical evacuation to Damascus were denied, and he passed away from his injuries the next morning.

The regime and Hezbollah planted land mines — estimated at 4,500 by Orient News — in the fields west of Madaya to enforce a siege that began in July 2015 as they attacked Zabadani.

More than 70 people were estimated to have died from starvation before the Assad regime allowed limited deliveries of assistance from January. The regime is still blocking medical evacuations, with medical organizations blaming the restriction for several recent deaths.

See Syria Feature: Doctors — Residents Still Starving in Madaya

Videos: Opposition Demonstrations Across Syria on Friday

Opposition “The Revolution Continues” protests across Syria were renewed on Friday across Syria.

A demonstration in Latamneh in Hama Province, remembering victims of a 2012 mass killing:

With the partial cessation of hostilities since February 27, rallies have reappeared, especially in areas where there is lower risk of regime and Russian airstrikes.

Talbiseh in Homs Province:

Maarat al-Num’an in Idlib Province:

Aleppo city:

The Damascus suburb of Saqba:

A Clue to US Weapons Support of Kurdish-Led Syrian Democratic Forces?

US Government documents, detailing the transport of weapons from Eastern Europe, may be a clue to the extent of American support of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The document, posted by IHS Jane’s on Thursday, lists the arms and ammunition in 81 containers of cargo to be moved from Bulgaria to a Turkish military pier and the Jordanian port of Aqaba.

The shipment, weighing 994 tons, included Faktoria anti-tank guided weapon systems. The system is an improved version of the Fagot ATGW, which has been used by Syrian rebels. There were also AK-47 rifles, PKM general-purpose machine guns, DShK heavy machine guns, and RPG-7 rocket launchers.

The shipping list was drawn up weeks after the formation of the SDF, led by the Kurdish militia YPG. The Forces have been successful in pushing back the Islamic State in northeast Syria, with assistance from US special forces as well as the supply of weapons.

A local source confirmed that the material in Jordan was likely to be for the SDF.

Jabhat al-Nusra to Hand Over Downed Regime Pilot to Ahrar al-Sham

The jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra are handing over a captured regime pilot to the rebel faction Ahrar al-Sham, according to pro-Nusra activists.

The pilot, Khaled Said of Latakia, ejected from a Russian-made Su-22 jet fighter on Tuesday when it was hit by a portable MANPADS anti-air missile, fired by Ahrar al-Sham fighters.

The warplane was on a bombing mission against rebels and Nusra in southern Aleppo Province, following a rebel-Nusra offensive that regained territory last week.

See Syria Feature: Rebels Down Regime Warplane with Anti-Air Missile

American Kevin Dawes Released by Assad Regime

The Assad regime has released an American citizen, Kevin Dawes, who was abducted in 2012.

The US State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said that Dawes was freed several days ago. He said:

We are appreciative of efforts on the part of the Russian government that it undertook on behalf of this US citizen in Syria….We have also been in direct periodic contact with the Syrian government regarding consular issues in general and American citizens detained.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Russian military had taken a US citizen from Syria to Moscow, after President Obama personally asked Vladimir Putin to help search for Americans. The ministry said the man was handed over to the US embassy and has now left Russia.

Dawes, a freelance photographer, was recently allowed to call family and receive care packages, according to The Washington Post.

Freelance journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, is still missing.