Everyone except the rebels, that is.
Advertisement
The comments by the Jaish al-Islam group, an influential player in the Syrian opposition, demonstrate the challenge facing foreign governments hoping “the cessation of hostilities” agreement will allow for a resumption of peace talks next week.
“The Russian side noted that a decision by the Syrian authorities to hold parliamentary elections in April, 2016 is being conducted in accordance with the existing Syrian constitution and does not interfere with steps to build the peace process”, the Kremlin said following the conference call.
“The situation… on the ground could be summarised as fragile”. Almost a week into the US- and Russia-brokered “cessation of hostilities” between the majority of the warring parties, Staffan de Mistura said the level of violence had gone down considerably.
As rockets fired by government forces were reported to hit near the rebel-held town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province, an influential rebel group said there could be no ceasefire while attacks continue.
It was the third meeting of a task force set up by the International Syria Support Group, made up of world and regional powers under the leadership of the U.S. and Russian Federation, which is monitoring the “cessation of hostilities” that began on Saturday.
Syria’s civil war started in March 2011 after protests against the regime of Bashar al-Assad were suppressed with brutal force.
In a statement on Thursday, the main anti-Assad rebel group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), spoke about “a continuation of deadly operations and war crimes which the regime and its allies have not ceased to commit”.
Obama administration officials also expressed cautious optimism that the fragile agreement in Syria could pave the way for regular humanitarian aid to flow into remote and besieged areas that have been cut off by fighting for years.
“The lack of access in Syria has been one of the greatest challenges for humanitarian organizations in a generation”, Egeland said.
French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron have urged Moscow and Damascus to “immediately stop attacks” on Syria’s moderate opposition. On Sunday, the United Nations resident coordinator in Damascus, Yacoub El Hillo, said 154,000 people living in besieged areas would receive food and medical aid in five days.
Advertisement
Cameron’s spokeswoman, Helen Bower, says it’s an “opportunity for the leaders of the U.K., France and Germany to come together in the way that they have before, when using the European Union to put sanctions on Russian Federation for its actions in eastern Ukraine and make very clear to President Putin that we need this ceasefire to hold, to be a lasting one and to open the way for a real political transition in Syria”.
