PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and UN envoy Staffan de Mistura lead Tuesday’s meeting of the International Syria Support Group
LATEST
- Video: People in Besieged East Ghouta Set Up Alternative Sources of Energy
- Kurdish Militia and Regime Warplanes Attack Vital Aleppo Road for 3rd Day in Row
- Regime Airstrike Hits Hospital in Refugee Camp Southwest of Damascus
- Hospitals Shut After Doctors Briefly Detained in Azaz
- Fighting Between Kurdish Forces and Pro-Assad Troops in Hasakah
- Video: Colonel Hassan Leads Effort to Retake al-Sha’ar Gas Fields from ISIS
- Rebel In-Fighting Renewed in East Ghouta Near Damascus
In its latest meeting on Tuesday, the International Syria Support Group made little apparent progress towards a political resolution in Syria.
The 17-nation group conferred in Vienna for the first time since February, when it put forth a “cessation of hostilities” agreement which soon collapsed in northwest Syria. The ISSG was also facing the Assad regime’s challenge to its demand for a lifting of sieges, with Damascus increasing restrictions on access in April.
In its statement at the end of the session, the 17-nation group urged renewed compliance with the cessation of hostilities and said that countries would “use their influence” with the warring parties to obtain this. However, they offered a confusing explanation as to the measures if either the regime or rebels did not comply, with a vague threat that this could lead to “the exclusion of such parties from the arrangements of the cessation and the protection it affords them”.
While noting the “growing civilian casualties in recent weeks” — most of them by Russian or regime bombardment — the ISSG merely “took note of the March 2016 commitment by the Syrian government not to engage in indiscriminate use of force and urged the fulfillment of that commitment”.
On the topic of humanitarian aid, the group said it would use its “influence with all parties on the ground and in coordination with the United Nations to ensure immediate, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access”.
In its one tangible step, the ISSG declared that, if the Assad regime continued to block access as of June 1, the World Food Program should “immediately carry out a program for air bridges and air drops for all areas in need”. The 17 nations pledged to support the air supply but did not explicitly set out the steps for protection in the event of obstruction by the Syrian military.
A girl in Darayya, besieged and bombarded since November 2012, sends a message to the UN, the US, and Russia:
Despite the vague provisions in the statement, US Secretary of State John Kerry asserted:
We moved the ball forward. [But] to make all of this more than words on a page, some determined actions will have to be taken to make it happen. No one can be remotely satisfied with the situation in Syria.
Appearing alongside Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared, “We’ve made progress in all directions of our work, namely the cessation of hostilities, the expansion of the humanitarian assistance, and the political process.”
But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir looked beyond the meeting, hinting that Riyadh would pursue a military opposition with rebels challenging President Assad.
Kerry insisted, without giving any details, that the US had an option if Assad continued to block any measures for a ceasefire, aid, and political transition:
If President Assad has come to a conclusion there’s no Plan B, then he’s come to a conclusion that is totally without any foundation whatsoever and even dangerous….
[Assad] should never make a miscalculation about President Obama’s determination to do what is right at any given moment of time, where he believes that he has to make that decision.
Video: People in Besieged East Ghouta Set Up Alternative Sources of Energy
Pro-opposition Orient News reports on residents of East Ghouta, near Damascus, setting up alternative sources of energy amid the Assad regime’s sieges:
Kurdish Militia and Regime Warplanes Attack Vital Aleppo Road for 3rd Day in Row
Both the Kurdish militia YPG and regime warplanes have attacked the vital al-Castello road near Aleppo city for the third day in a row, according to pro-rebel outlets.
El-Dorar said the main route to opposition areas of Aleppo was almost shut. Rebel commanders said the attacks were trying to force rebels to retreat from parts of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where they have been battling YPG for weeks.
Pro-Assad forces been attacking rebels nearby at Handarat, hoping to cut off the opposition in the city.
Regime Airstrike Hits Hospital in Refugee Camp Southwest of Damascus
A regime airstrike struck the only field hospital operating in the Khan al-Shih Palestinian refugee camp on Tuesday, as pro-Assad forces tried to move into the area southwest of Damascus.
Two camp residents said at least 16 air raids targeted the camp, which was also hit by artillery shells from four positions.
One airstrike was a direct hit on the Doctor al-Ziyad Biqai Hospital, the only medical facility serving the 12,000 residents, 3,000 of whom are children.
The pro-Assad forces began a campaign last week to occupy the camp, 25 km (16 miles) southwest of Damascus. Activists said at least 22 people have been killed and the only road leading in and out of the area has been cut.
Helicopters reportedly dropped 25 barrel bombs on Wednesday
“The regime is madly bombing everything,” Raed Taamah, a spokesman for the FSA-affiliated Seif al-Sham brigade, said. “They are targeting everything that moves.”
Hospitals Shut After Doctors Briefly Detained in Azaz
Hospitals serving an estimated 100,000 people in northern Aleppo Province have stopped services, with staff on strike after the brief detention of two doctors in Azaz by unidentified gunmen.
“The hospital is closed until further notice,” said Dr. Muhammad al-Qhaini, director of the Azaz Ahli Hospital and one of the doctors held on Tuesday.
The medical facility is treating emergency cases.
Qhaini explained, “A verbal altercation with the companion of a patient escalated, and he brought gunmen claiming to belong to the [rebel] military court.”
The men held al-Qhaini and his colleague for one hour early Tuesday morning before releasing go. The doctor said they were not from any rebel faction, “just an armed group”.
“We are demanding that the factions protect what is left of the medical personnel here,” said al-Qhaini. “There must be a mechanism to prevent situations like this.”
Medical staff protest the detentions:
Fighting Between Kurdish Forces and Pro-Assad Troops in Hasakah
Kurdish security forces and pro-regime troops have reportedly clashed in the city of Hasakah in eastern Syria.
Local activists said on Wednesday that there were heavy gunfire and explosions in Hasakah, in which the Kurdish and pro-Assad forces have uneasily shared control.
The pro-Kurdish ANHA News Agency claimed pro-Assad troops attacked a Kurdish police checkpoint and civilians. It said one civilian was shot in the chest.
A Kurdish police official claimed that the attack was repelled, killing five pro-Assad fighters and wounding dozens.
Last month, Kurdish security forces battled for days with pro-Assad militia in the nearby city of Qamishli before a truce was arranged.
Clashes in Hasakeh:
Smoke rises above the city:
Video: Colonel Hassan Leads Effort to Retake al-Sha’ar Gas Fields from ISIS
Claimed footage of Colonel Suhail Hassan, head of the Syrian Army’s Tiger Forces, near the al-Sha’ar gas fields in eastern Homs Province in central Syria:
The Islamic State captured both the al-Sha’ar and al-Maher fields earlier this month. For days, pro-regime outlets have proclaimed that the Syrian Army will soon regain al-Sha’ar.
See Syria Daily, May 9: Islamic State Takes More Gas Fields from Regime
Rebel In-Fighting Renewed in East Ghouta Near Damascus
Rebel factions have clashed with each other in East Ghouta near Damascus, ending a tentative week-long truce.
The leading faction in the area, Jaish al-Islam, has been battling the Failaq al-Rahman group and Jaish al-Fustat, linked to the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra. The fighting this spring has killed scores of fighters on both sides, with clashes for control of villages.
Unconfirmed claims said more than 50 people were killed on Monday, bringing the total to more than 500.
Jaish al-Islam accused Failaq al-Rahman of rejecting an initiative, tabled by opposition-rebel coordinator Riad Hijab, to end the fighting. A local body close to Failaq al-Rahman said Jaish al-Islam had failed to withdraw from a village, breaking last week’s agreement.
A well-placed local source said Jaish al-Islam responded to attacks on its fighters, especially from snipers.
The Syrian military has taken advantage of the in-fighting to seize some opposition territory northeast of Damascus.
