Syria Talks Delayed Over Who Should Represent the Opposition
The United Nations has announced that talks aimed at bringing an end to Syria’s civil war will begin in Geneva on Friday, after a delay over who will represent the country’s fragmented opposition, Agence France-Presse reports.
While negotiations were initially set to begin on Monday, U.N. special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva on Monday that a “stalemate” over the makeup of the opposition’s delegation had pushed the start date back.
De Mistura said he expected invitations would be sent out to the delegates on Tuesday, but declined to specify who would attend. The attendee list, he said, would be “as inclusive as possible.”
The U.N. envoy plans to shuttle between various groups of Syrian representatives until they can agree to meet face to face, a process that could take up to six months, the New York Times reports.
“We will be holding those proximity talks until we can hold direct talks,” De Mistura said. “We will remain adaptable and creative.”
The peace talks, the first in two years, have stalled over the question of who will attend on behalf of the opposition.
While Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition of disparate political and armed rebel groups in December, Russia has called for the assembly of a second opposition coalition. The opposition coalition formed in Riyadh sees this second group as too close to the Syrian government.
Turkey, a major supporter of the Syrian opposition, has threatened to withdraw its support if the opposition bench includes representatives of Syrian Kurdish groups.
De Mistura said on Monday he would not issue initiations until he was sure of who would actually come.
And while he refused to divulge “organizational details” surrounding the potential makeup of the opposition delegation, he said he sought to create a coalition “as inclusive as possible,” and to include representatives from women’s groups and civil society to serve as “advisers.”
The delay in Geneva comes as President Bashar al-Assad’s government makes significant gains on the battlefield and Russian forces appear to be expanding their ground campaign.
Pro-government forces have in recent days regained a significant amount of territory in the north of the coastal Latakia province, retaking control of some 30 villages held by rebels since 2012.
Government Troops Close in on Rebel Stronghold in South
Backed by Russian airstrikes, pro-government forces were close to retaking a rebel stronghold in the southern province of Daraa on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports.
“Regime forces now control around 70 percent of Sheikh Miskeen,” said Rami Abdulrahman, chief of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy ground fighting and several dozen Russian airstrikes on the town.
The town of Sheikh Miskeen is strategically located between Damascus and the city of Sweida, both under government control.
The town also lies only 7 miles from the rebel stronghold of Nawa, a key target for pro-government forces.
Sheikh Miskeen is a “launching pad” for rebel operations, a security source told Agence France-Presse, and one of the opposition’s “centers of gravity for the whole of Daraa province.”
Suicide Bombing Targets Ahrar al-Sham Complex in Aleppo, Kills 23
A suicide bomber targeted an Ahrar al-Sham checkpoint in Aleppo city on Monday, killing at least 23 people, Agence France-Presse reports.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 19 fighters from the rebel group were killed in addition to 4 civilians when a militant driving a truck full of explosives targeted the a checkpoint outside one of the group’s security complexes in Syria’s northernmost city.
The Observatory also said that several prisoners being held by Ahrar al-Sham at the complex were believed to have been killed.
The massive blast took down three buildings and, as of Monday evening, many people were still missing under the rubble.
It was unclear who was responsible for the attack, but Ahrar al-Sham has been the target of several assassination attempts in the past.
In recent weeks more than 20 commanders of different rebel groups have been killed in a string of mysterious assassinations.
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Top image: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Russia on Tuesday argued strongly against Turkey’s demand to keep a leading Kurdish group out of Syria’s peace talks, and said it expects the U.N. envoy to resist what he called “blackmail” by Turkey and others, reflecting sharp differences that remain ahead of the scheduled talks. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)