Air strikes have destroyed a hospital and killed dozens of people in rebel-held areas of Aleppo, including children and doctors, in an attack that a USA official says appears to be exclusively the work of the Syrian government.
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The opposition accuses the government of deliberately targeting civilians in rebel-held parts of Aleppo to drive them out, while the government says rebels have been heavily shelling government-held areas, proving that they are receiving more sophisticated weaponry from their foreign supporters, which include Arab states and Turkey.
The agreement, however, is “barely alive” – as De Mistura put it himself – mostly due to fighting in and bombing of Aleppo, where at least 250 civilians have been killed in the past 9 days and three hospitals in opposition areas have been targeted.
Syria announced temporary local truces in two areas last week.
Regarding bringing an end to hostilities in Aleppo and separating the Islamist militia al-Nusrah from opposition forces, Kerry said in a statement, “There are a number of different ways to approach it”.
Aleppo has borne the brunt of increased fighting that has all but destroyed a February ceasefire and killed almost 250 people in the northern city since April 22, a monitoring group said.
He did not say what the proposals were, adding that he would call Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later Monday and that de Mistura was headed to Moscow today for talks.
The US secretary of state said a recent air strike on a hospital in Aleppo, which he blamed on the Syrian government, was “unconscionable” but he added that both sides, the opposition and the regime, had contributed to “this chaos”.
A new report says Russian Federation, along with the United States, are pushing for talks that would result in Aleppo becoming part of the temporary “regime of calm”.
Before leaving Geneva en route to Washington, Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss safeguarding the flagging truce.
Norway announced Monday that it would deploy 60 soldiers to train Syrians fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, boosting its involvement in the worldwide coalition against the militants.
The Syrian conflict began in 2011 with popular protests against Mr Al Assad and spiralled into civil war after a crackdown by security forces.
English edition of Asharq Al-Awsat – the world’s premier pan-Arab daily.
” A senior US diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US, Russia and the United Nations have moved forward on a new ceasefire mechanism for Aleppo, but a deal was not complete”. Moscow past year sent in warplanes to help the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Washington and its regional partners, including Saudi Arabia, support some rebel factions seeking Assad’s ouster.
In the countryside north of Aleppo, other rebel groups have been fighting against Islamic State fighters, who are not party to any ceasefire.
“We have said from day one that the rebels should get all the weapons they need”, he said, specifically noting shoulder-launched missiles.
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“There can be no progress in the political process unless we urgently see tangible benefits on the ground for the Syrian people”, said the special envoy.
