Assad Rejects Opposition’s Demand for a ‘Transitional Body’
In an interview published Wednesday, President Bashar al-Assad said the country needed a national unity government to oversee the transition to a new constitution, but rejected the idea of a “transitional body” proposed by the opposition, the Associated Press reports.
“First of all, regarding the definition of a ‘transition period,’ such a definition does not exist,” Assad told Sputnik, the Russian state news agency.
The political transition, Assad said, must move directly from one constitution to another. “Thus, the transition period must be under the current constitution, and we will move on to the new constitution after the Syrian people vote for it,” he said.
“Neither the Syrian constitution, nor the constitution of any other country in the world, includes anything that is called a transitional body of power. It’s illogical and unconstitutional.”
The Syrian opposition wants a “transitional body with full executive powers” and the removal of Assad from power.
The U.N. roadmap adopted in December for a political transition in Syria calls for a Syrian-led political process that would establish “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance” within six months, and lead to the creation of a new constitution and national elections.
Russia Shipping More to Syria Than It’s Removing: Reuters
Although Russian president Vladimir Putin announced earlier this month the withdrawal of most of Russia’s military contingent, Moscow has in fact shipped more equipment and supplies to Syria than it has brought back in the same period, according to an exclusive report by Reuters.
Three days after Putin’s March 14 announcement, a Russian naval icebreaker and one of its main supply vessels for its military mission in Syria left Russia for the Syrian port town of Tartous.
The ship was reportedly carrying a heavy load, sitting so low in the water that its load line was barely visible, Reuters reports.
And while it’s unknown what the ship was carrying, or what has been flown in or out of the country in Russia’s giant cargo planes over the past several weeks, the Reuters report claims the movements suggest a massive effort by Moscow to maintain “its military infrastructure in Syria and to supply the Syrian army so that it can scale up again swiftly if need be.”
An analysis of shipping data, official information and tips from maritime security sources and bloggers tracking Russian ships through the Bosphorus strait en route to the Mediterranean indicates there’s no sign of the so-called “Syrian Express” – the nickname given to the fleet of ships that has maintained a steady flow of supplies for Russian forces in Syria – slowing down.
Russian Airstrikes Killed More Than 1,000 in 2015: Monitor
Russian airstrikes likely killed more than 1,000 civilians in Syria in the last quarter of 2015, a monitoring group said Tuesday, AFP reports.
According to an analysis of Russian airstrikes from September 30 to December 31 by the London-based Airwars monitoring group, between 1,096 and 1,448 civilian non-combatants were “likely” to have been killed in 192 incidents during which “Russian strikes appear to have taken place in the near vicinity” between those dates.
The monitoring group said another 1,700 civilians were “credibly reported injured” during the same period and the same 192 incidents.
“As well as inflicting excessive civilian casualties, Russia is credibly reported to have extensively targeted civilian infrastructure in Syria – with water treatment plants, bakeries, food distribution depots and aid convoys all struck,” Airwars said.
Airwars acknowledged that in some cases it was unclear whether the civilians were killed as a result of Russian airstrikes or government attacks.
The figure is higher than the 1,044 civilians supposedly killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes targeting positions held by the so-called Islamic State group (ISIS) since August 2014, according to Airwars. The Pentagon has placed the death toll far lower, so far confirming only 21 civilian deaths.
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Top image: President Bashar al-Assad gives an interview with the BBC in Damascus on Feb. 10, 2015. (Associated Press)