Pro-Government Forces Advance in Syria’s Coastal Region

Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes took control of Kinsabba, a major town in the coastal province of Latakia on Saturday, Al-Jazeera reported.

Armed opposition forces, including al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, seized the strategic town, lying north of government-held Latakia and southwest of the rebel-held Idlib province, on July 1.

Forces allied with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad took part in the massive battle for Kinsabba lasting several hours, according to al-Masdar news, a pro-Syrian government news outlet.

The opposition loss came just as the U.S. and Russia agreed to join forces in fighting Jabhat al-Nusra. However, despite the losses in Latakia, Al-Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr believes targeting al-Nusra will be difficult.

“In some areas, al-Nusra shares territory with the opposition and is embedded with them on the battlefield,” she said. “In other areas, al-Nusra has local alliances with factions that are backed by the U.S. and some Arab countries.”

Syrian Opposition Says U.S. Needs Stronger Stance Against Russia

Bassma Kodmani, a member of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said the U.S. needs to stand up to Russia, Reuters reported.

“What we lack here is a serious reaction to Russian behavior on the ground,” Kodmani said on Sunday, as Russian-backed forces advanced in Aleppo, tightening the siege on opposition-held areas of the city.

An ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Russia has been intervening militarily on his behalf since September 2015. The U.S., on the other hand, has trained and equipped various factions of the rebel forces fighting the Syrian government.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Moscow last Thursday to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria. The meeting was an attempt to salvage the U.N.-brokered peace talks that fell apart in April.

Despite the halt in negotiations, the talks have an August 1 deadline. However, Kerry ended his Moscow trip saying more work was needed before steps could be taken to restart discussions. The two main disputes causing delays are in regards to a blueprint for political transition and an agreement to stop indiscriminate bombing and airstrikes.

“This is where we expect the Americans to react more forcefully, because these are war crimes being committed at the very moment when Kerry is in Moscow and is discussing a security arrangement and the targeting of terrorist groups, while Russia is fully engaged in this operation on Aleppo,” said Kodmani. “It really is quite baffling to see that the Western powers who are supposed to be the friends of the Syrian people are not putting forward any alternative approach. There’s a big void out there.”

Residents of Opposition-Held Aleppo Under Siege

Approximately 300,000 people living in rebel-held Aleppo are under siege after an advance by government forces over the weekend.

The only supply route into the opposition-held parts of the city came under regime fire on July 7, and government forces, backed by their Russian allies, seized the actual road over the weekend, AFP reported.

The eastern part of Aleppo is now completely isolated, with food and fuel supplies running out. It has not received any aid since July 7, according to the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and has only enough stockpiles to last 145,000 people for one month.

“Safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access into east Aleppo city is critical to saving lives and reducing suffering,” OCHA said in a statement, warning that the situation in Aleppo is “particularly worrying due to the high concentration of people living in this area.”

Recommended Reads:

• The Wall Street Journal: ‘Turkey’s Failed Coup Offers Some Relief for Syrian Opposition, Refugees’
• The Guardian: Rebels Fear Assad Victory as Noose Tightens Around Aleppo
• CBS News: Former CIA Director on “Worst-Case Scenario” in Syrian Civil War
• UNHCR: At Least 200,000 Civilians in Dire Straits as Noose Tightens in Three Syrian Towns
• The Daily Star: Syria Must Explain Chemical Warfare Agents: Watchdog