Truce Holds but Violations on the Rise
The fragile cease-fire in Syria held “by and large” on its third day despite intermittent fighting and growing accusations of violations, U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon said on Monday, the Associated Press reports.
A senior official in the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said continued attacks by the government ran the risk of wrecking the temporary truce.
“We are not facing a violation of the truce … we are facing a complete nullification,” said Asaad al-Zoubi, head of the HNC’s representation at the peace talks, according to Reuters.
“I believe the international community has totally failed in all its experiments, and must take real, practical measures towards the (Syrian) regime,” he said, without clarifying what those measures should be.
U.S. secretary of state John Kerry said efforts were being made to track down alleged violations, but that there was no evidence that the alleged breaches would destabilize the delicate peace.
The “cessation of hostilities” does not include jihadists like the so-called Islamic State group (ISIS) or al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, and the Syrian government and its Russian backer have made clear they intend to continue attacking all groups they consider to be “terrorists.”
Pro-government forces captured territory east of Damascus on Monday, retaking a strategic piece of land between two neighborhoods in eastern Ghouta. The land between Beit Nayim and Harasta al-Qantara had been held by al-Nusra Front, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
HNC spokesperson Salim al-Muslat said the cease-fire was a step in the right direction, but that there needed to be a mechanism to monitor and stop violations.
“There has to be a power that really stops what Russia and what the regime is doing,” he told Reuters on Monday. “Today there [were] about 10 Russian airstrikes, about 16 airstrikes done by the regime.”
Task Force to Discuss Cease-Fire Breaches
Countries pushing for peace in Syria met in Geneva on Monday to discuss complaints that a temporary truce was quickly unraveling, as France demanded information about reports of attacks on rebel positions, Reuters reports.
France announced it had information about new attacks on areas held by moderate rebels, calling for an immediate meeting of the Syria task force to address the violations of the temporary cease-fire.
“We have received indications that attacks, including by air, have been continuing against zones controlled by the moderate opposition,” said French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
“All this needs to be verified. France has therefore demanded that the task force charged with overseeing the cessation of hostilities meet without delay.”
Opposition groups worry that without any monitor set in place, and with no mutually agreed upon map detailing areas of control, the government and its allies will continue to target rebel forces under the pretext of targeting extremist groups like ISIS and al-Nusra Front.
The 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG), led by the United States and Russia, is supposed to monitor compliance with the cease-fire and act immediately to end any breaches.
NATO said on Monday that while the truce appears to be largely holding, the alliance is concerned about a Russian military build-up in Syria, Reuters reports.
Kerry Tells Assad to ‘Show Some Decency’
U.S. secretary of state John Kerry accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, calling on it to show “some measure of decency” during the fragile truce, CNN reports.
Although aid has already reached some 116,000 people since the February 11 agreement to implement a cessation of hostilities in Syria, Kerry said he was concerned by reports that the government “continues to drag its feet” in providing permits for incoming aid.
“And so we call on the Assad regime to, at least in a moment of cessation of hostilities, try to show some measure of decency, if that is even possible,” Kerry said.
“And our hope is that they will also stop their people, their troops and their officials who get in the way or manage these shipments, from actually putting their hands into the shipments and taking out medicine or taking out other preferred items simply to keep for themselves,” he said.
Recommended Reads
- The Telegraph: Assad Regime Accused of Violating Syria’s Fragile Cease-Fire
- BBC: U.S. and Russia in Partnership Over Syria
- CNN: Kerry to Syria’s Assad Regime: ‘Show Some Decency’
- The Guardian: First Test for Syrian Truce After Breaches Reported on Both Sides
- The Daily Beast: In the Syrian Cease-Fire Shell Game, The Good Guys May Be Bad Guys
- Al-Monitor: Will Current Truce Pave Way for Permanent Cease-Fire in Syria?
Top image: Pins with the images of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah are displayed at a souvenir shop in Damascus, Syria. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)