Uptick in Fighting Displaces at Least 120,000 in Last Month
A significant surge in fighting this month in Syria has displaced nearly 120,000 people, the Associated Press reports.
Most of the displaced fled their homes in the Hama, Aleppo and Idlib governorates between Oct. 5 and Oct. 22, according to figures provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The majority, however, still remain inside the three districts, with only a small portion escaping to refugee camps along Syria’s border with Turkey.
A spokesman for the U.N. said that while the organization and its partners are ramping up air provisions in the area, many of the displaced Syrians lack basic necessities like tents, food, water and sanitation facilities.
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which put out a similar report on Monday, said the recent surge in displaced Syrians is significantly pressuring camps that have long been overloaded.
Most of those displaced this month, according to the council’s report, are from the Aleppo governorate, where forces loyal to beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, supported by Russian air power, began a major ground offensive on Oct. 16.
Oman Minister Meets Assad to Discuss Conflict
The Omani foreign minister met with Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s capital on Monday to discuss the various strategies put forward to address the ongoing violence in Syria, Reuters reports.
The meeting came on the heels of the Russian announcement the same day calling on Syria to begin making arrangements for a new round of parliamentary and presidential elections.
Diplomats and political analysts have said that Oman, a Gulf state with close relationships with the U.S., Syria and Iran, could potentially play the role of intermediary in any future round of negotiations in the war-torn country.
New Round of Syria Talks Tentatively Scheduled for this Week
The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it is in the process of speaking to Russia and other global powers about setting up another round of talks focused on ending the ongoing bloodshed in Syria, the AFP reports.
Neither Washington nor Moscow has announced a date or location for the next round of talks, which some say could be held as early as Friday of this week, and the U.S. State Department has said the situation is complicated and that talks may take some time.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said the meeting was “about coming together to try to reach a consensus view on what an effective political transition can look like in Syria” – a process he said would be “complicated.”
A spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry refused to share any details on the upcoming meeting aside from saying Moscow is “working on it,” and that the Kremlin is working with a handful of other capitals to build on the meeting that took place last week in Vienna between representatives of the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Recommended Reads
- The Washington Post: Obama Weighs Moving U.S. Troops Closer to Front Lines in Syria, Iraq
- Foreign Policy: The War to Save Syria’s History
- The New Yorker: Iran’s Generals Are Dying in Syria
- The Associated Press: Analysis: Meetings, Meetings, Everywhere; But No Meeting of Minds on Syria Peace Plan
- The New York Times: Violence in Syria Spurs a Huge Surge in Civilian Flight
Top image: Refugees from Syria and Iraq disembark on the Greek island of Lesbos after arriving with 120 other people on a wooden boat from the Turkish coast, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. Greece’s government says it is preparing a rent-assistance program to cope with a growing number of refugees, who face the oncoming winter and mounting resistance in Europe. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)