Syria’s five-year war has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced 11 million, half of Syria’s pre-war population, while drawing in world and regional powers, inspiring jihadist attacks across the world and sparking an worldwide refugee crisis.
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to negotiate a settlement on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in China on Monday.
In theory, the United States and Russian Federation agree to use their influence over the opposition forces and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, respectively, to enforce a cessation of hostilities followed by an agreement of military intelligence sharing aimed at destroying extremist forces scattered throughout the country.
Lavrov also slammed new United States sanctions slapped on Russian Federation over the crisis in Ukraine insisting that it hampered joint efforts by the two sides “including those aimed at resolving regional conflicts”, the statement said. Conflicting casualty counts are common in the aftermath of airstrikes.
The U.N. humanitarian aid agency says fighting in Syria’s central Hama governorate has displaced some 100,000 people over eight days between late August and early September.
Insurgents led by an ultraconservative Islamic group last week advanced northward in Hama province, prompting fierce fighting with government forces.
The fighting sent tens of thousands fleeing in the latest wave, part of a pattern that has displaced almost half of Syria’s population since the war began in 2011.
OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) said figures from a camp coordination group show almost half of the displaced from Hama arrived in the neighboring rebel-held Idlib province. It says a shortage of shelter space means many displaced families are sleeping outdoors in parks. “Wherever the regime is driven out of an area, it ends up destroying it”, he said in a text to The Associated Press.
OCHA says a dozen schools in rural areas and four mosques in the city of Hama were converted into temporary shelters. The government at the time said it targeted “terrorists”.
An estimated 11 million Syrians have fled their homes since the war began in 2011.
As the violence rages in Syria, various talks on how to end it are taking place outside the war torn country.
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In London on Wednesday, Syrian opposition leaders unveiled a plan for a political transition created to bring an end to the war. The proposal then calls for Syria’s political and armed opposition factions to form an 18-month interim government that would rule until democratic elections can be held.
