U.N. Envoy Calls on U.S. and Russia to ‘Revitalize’ Cease-Fire
United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura closed two weeks of peace talks in Geneva on Thursday between the Syrian government and representatives of the opposition without setting a date for the next round, urging the United Nations and Russia to “revitalize” a crumbling cease-fire.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after briefing members of the U.N. Security Council, de Mistura said he hoped to reconvene indirect negotiations, but that the cessation of hostilities negotiated in February needed to be revived before anything could move forward.
“How can you have substantial talks when you have only news about bombing and shelling?” the envoy said on Thursday.
Syria’s main opposition coalition, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), left formal talks last week over a sharp increase in cease-fire violations by the government and its allies.
De Mistura continued to meet with the government delegation this week, despite a steadily rising number of civilian casualties in and around the city of Aleppo.
HNC chief coordinator Riad Hijab, a former prime minister, called in a statement on Wednesday for a meeting of the “Friends of Syria” – an international diplomatic collective that excludes Russia – to contain the increasing violence and steadily worsening humanitarian situation.
The meeting should aim to “put an end to the hostilities against the Syrian people and put pressure on the regime and its allies to abide by the international resolutions and put an end to their severe violations against the Syrian people,” the statement said.
Airstrikes in Rebel-Held Aleppo Kill 20
Airstrikes targeted a hospital and nearby buildings in the opposition-held half of Aleppo last Wednesday night, killing at least 20 people, including two doctors and three children.
Mohammad Alloush, chief negotiator for the opposition and political head of the powerful Jaish al-Islam rebel group, blamed Bashar al-Assad’s government for the deadly strikes, telling the Associated Press that increasing violence by pro-government forces shows “the environment is not conducive to any political action.”
Among the 20 killed were one of the last remaining pediatricians in the opposition-held areas of the city and a dentist, according to activists in the area.
According to the Syria Civil Defense – a volunteer group of rescue workers also known as the White Helmets – the al-Quds hospital and its adjacent buildings had been hit by four consecutive airstrikes, killing 22 people. The group said there were still victims at the site buried beneath the rubble.
“Whoever carries out these massacres needs a war tribunal and a court of justice to be tried for his crimes. He does not need a negotiating table,” Alloush told AP.
Russia Calls on U.N. to Blacklist Two Rebel Groups
Russia said on Wednesday it has asked the U.N. Security Council to blacklist two prominent Syrian rebel groups it considers to be “terrorist organizations,” one of which has a lead role at peace talks in Geneva.
The two hardline Islamist groups Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham are not observing the tenuous cease-fire “and are engaged in terrorist activities,” Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin told reporters, calling for sanctions on both, according to the Associated Press.
Mohammad Alloush, a leading member of Jaish al-Islam, chairs the opposition’s delegation to the negotiations in Geneva.
And while the Syrian government also considers the two groups “terrorist” organizations and is opposed to the presence in Geneva, Russia’s push to add the two powerful rebel groups to a blacklist that includes the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and ISIS sparked “controversy” among world leaders.
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