The Obama administration opened a two-front campaign on Syria on Thursday with a push to end one war there and step up another.
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Russian Federation says some opposition groups in the Syrian city of Aleppo are breaking ranks with militants and cooperating with the government.
Salem Meslet, spokesman for an opposition group, said that “we are with the political process but we have to see the humanitarian issues are solved”.
Earlier on Wednesday, U.S military official Steve Warren said in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad that Russian aircraft bombed two hospitals in Aleppo during the day, depriving some 50,000 Syrians of medical care.
Pro-regime forces have made a series of gains this month in Aleppo province, severing rebel supply lines and prompting tens of thousands to flee towards the Turkish border.
Moscow has reportedly proposed a March 1 date for a ceasefire but it’s also reacted angrily to USA allegations that its using ” dumb bombs” as part of its bombing offensive.
“We’re going to have a serious conversation about all aspects about what’s happening in Syria”. Talks aimed at narrowing differences over Syria and keeping afloat diplomacy to end its civil war have gotten under way in Munich.
Russian Federation yesterday said that it was ready to discuss a ceasefire in Syria as foreign ministers gathered in Munich in a bid to kick-start peace talks derailed by the regime onslaught on the besieged city of Aleppo.
“This is straight out of the Kremlin’s playbook”, said a senior European Union diplomat.
The agreement by world powers, including Russian Federation, is the latest twist in a conflict which has killed an estimated quarter of a million people and displaced millions of refugees, many of whom have headed for Europe.
As we approach the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation meeting in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday, Carter used a combination of quiet diplomacy and public reproaches, up to accuse some of the 66 members of the coalition, it does not named, of “doing nothing at all”.
The U.S. has said both, angering opposition groups and their supporters like the Turks and Saudis. The Pentagon estimates that EI has lost during this period about 40% of the territories it occupied in Iraq and about 10% of those under its control in Syria.
In Paris, Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, reiterated his long-standing disapproval of the US policy on Syria.
“Human rights and the Geneva Convention are being trampled underfoot”, he said, adding “everyone must share the responsibility to combat this humanitarian disaster”. Canada will keep two surveillance planes in the region and conduct aerial refueling missions.
Syria’s Kurds have been among the most effective forces battling the Islamic State group, but have remained largely neutral in the conflict between President Bashar Assad and the rebels fighting to overthrow him.
Kurdish-led fighters aided by Russian bombing captured a rebel-held former Syrian military airport near the border with Turkey, a monitor and rebels said on Thursday.
Rebel groups have been distracted by the offensive in the area by the Syrian army and its Russian allies, allowing the Kurds to capture the Menagh base near the Turkish border and expand their foothold in the north.
Maj. Yasser Abdul-Rahim, a rebel commander in Aleppo province, told The Associated Press that fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, are clashing with rebels near Mannagh air base.
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“We have not witnessed such bombardment since the revolution began”, said Abu Thabet, referring to the start of the uprising against Assad’s government in March 2011.
