Assad Holds Parliamentary Elections Amid Surge in Violence
The Assad government held parliamentary elections on Wednesday in areas under its control, while the opposition and its Western and regional backers denounced the poll as illegitimate.
The election took place independently of the U.N.-mediated peace talks in Geneva set to resume on Wednesday, although the government delegation isn’t due to arrive in Geneva until Friday.
The election and the resumption of negotiations in Geneva took place amid a steadily crumbling cease-fire, as a Russian-backed government offensive in the north threatens to engulf the country in violence once again.
Members of the Syrian political opposition, who want the second round of peace talks to focus on political transition, called the election meaningless – “theater for the sake of procrastination,” according to Asaad al-Zoubi, chief negotiator for the opposition’s main body, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
Wednesday marks the second time the government has held parliamentary elections since violence began in 2011. Assad was re-elected as head of state in the 2014 election.
Government Official Rules Out Assad Departure
A top Syrian official said on Wednesday that the opposition must let go of its “dream” of pushing Assad out of power with a transitional government, saying it would be akin to a coup d’etat and “will never be accepted,” the Associated Press reports.
Deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad said most of the world, minus Saudi Arabia and Turkey, has renounced their calls for the Syrian leader to step down.
“This will not happen, not now, nor tomorrow nor ever,” he said, responding to the opposition’s call for Assad’s exit.
In recent weeks, Assad put forward the idea of a national unity government but rejected the opposition’s demand for a transitional body with full executive powers, the center of a peace plan that major powers agreed to during a conference in Geneva in June 2012.
“We believe that if we have to proceed then we need to forget or we need others to forget the dreams they had for the last five years and to come with factual, actual solutions to the problem,” Mekdad said. “This includes the possibility of establishing a national unity government or a broad government that includes members of the opposition.”
Aleppo Hospitals on Strike After Turkmen Rebels Kill Worker
A handful of hospitals in Aleppo on are on strike, barring emergency cases, after an aid worker at the al-Daqaq hospital was kidnapped and tortured to death by rebel fighters, according to the opposition news website Enab Baladi.
Khalid Iskef was kidnapped on Tuesday from the children’s hospital in the al-Shaer district by members of the Turkmen Front rebel group, the al-Daqaq hospital said in a statement. He reportedly died after seven hours of continuous torture and electrical shots.
A number of hospitals, including the al-Zahra surgical hospital, have joined al-Daqaq hospital in a strike until the killers are brought to justice.
According to the Enab Baladi correspondent in Aleppo, activists have staged a sit-in in the al-Shaer district demanding “retribution for the killing.”
Recommended Reads
- Foreign Affairs: Ending Sectarianism in Syria
- Al-Monitor: Battle Lines Shift in Northern Syria
- MSN: Aleppo Residents React to Syria’s Parliamentary Vote
- Syria Direct: FSA, Nusra and Ahrar Offensive Against Reported Islamic State Affiliates Leaves ‘No Safe Corridors’ for Trapped Civilians
- The Washington Post: Syria’s Assad Holds Elections Despite Peace Talks in Geneva
- Reuters: Citizen Journalists in Syria ‘Risking Their Lives’ for News
- The Guardian: Syria’s Darayya Needs Air Drops to Save its People From Starvation
Top image: Syrian policemen stand guard outside a polling station during the parliamentary election in Damascus, on Wednesday, April 13, 2016. Polling stations opened in government-held parts of Syria where a new 250-member parliament will be elected. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)