Opposition Demands Prisoner Release Ahead of Negotiations
In the buildup to negotiations with the government in Damascus, Syria’s opposition wants to see confidence-building measures including a release of detainees, Reuters reports.
Leaders of the Syrian opposition, including members of armed rebel groups, said Monday they plan to deliver that message to U.N. special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. The demand is likely to complicate efforts to begin the talks.
In a timeline devised last month, the U.N. aims to bring the two main sides in Syria’s civil war together on January 25 in Geneva for talks aimed at ending nearly five years of violence.
According to George Sabra, a member of the political opposition, any negotiations must be preceded by “real steps on the ground that express not only good will but also confidence-building measures such as releasing political detainees and stopping the bombardment of towns and cities by heavy artillery and jets.”
Opposition officials said their demands are in accordance with a U.N. Security Council resolution approved last month endorsing an international road map for a Syrian peace process, which contains articles calling for the release of arbitrarily detained people, an end to attacks on civilians and unimpeded humanitarian access across the country.
Sarin Gas Used in Syria: U.N. Watchdog
A U.N. chemical weapons fact-finding mission revealed Monday that some people in Syria may have been exposed to a “sarin or sarin-like gas,” AFP reports.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a watchdog mission based in the Hague, said in a report it was investigating 11 incidents regarding the use of toxic chemicals.
“Further investigation would be necessary to determine when or under what circumstances such exposure might have occurred,” the OPCW said in a report sent to the U.N. Security Council last week.
The report did not specify when or where the 11 incidents took place.
Prior investigations by the OPCW have identified the use of mustard and chlorine gas in Syria.
The U.N. Security Council is set to address the use of chemical weapons in Syria in a meeting on Tuesday.
U.N. Rushes to Avoid Saudi–Iran Fallout on Syria
The U.N. took action Monday to protect peace efforts in Syria from political repercussions following a growing dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia, AFP reports.
Staffan de Mistura made an emergency trip to Riyadh on Monday and is expected to travel to Iran later this week to seek guarantees that gains made in the Syria peace process will not be derailed.
U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon spoke with the foreign ministers of both countries on Monday, urging them to “avoid any actions that could further exacerbate the situation between two countries and in the region as a whole,” Ban’s spokesman said.
“A breakdown of relations between Riyadh and Tehran could have serious consequences for the region.”
De Mistura is depending on broad support to launch peace negotiations between the Assad government and the opposition in Geneva on January 25.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have both played key roles in the diplomatic push to end Syria’s nearly five-year-long civil war.
Relations between the two regional powers became strained after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric, who had criticized the Saudi royal family.
The execution of Nimr al-Nimr led to mass demonstrations in Tehran, during which protesters set fire to the Saudi embassy. Soon after, Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran.
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Top image: An Iranian woman in Tehran holds up a poster on January 4, 2016, showing Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent opposition Saudi Shiite cleric who was executed by Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)