Kerry: Assad’s War of Starvation. In a weekend article for Foreign Policy, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry examined the Syrian government’s blocking of food and humanitarian aid to rebel-held areas as winter bears down, and desperate Syrians resort to eating stray dogs to stave off hunger.
“Simply put, the world must act quickly and decisively to get life-saving assistance to the innocent civilians who are bearing the brunt of the civil war,” wrote Kerry. “To do anything less risks a ‘lost generation’ of Syrian children traumatized, orphaned and starved by this barbaric war.”
Kerry’s indictment fell heavily on President Bashar al-Assad. “The obstacles exist on both sides of the war … but it is the regime’s policies that threaten to take a humanitarian disaster into the abyss. The Assad government is refusing to register legitimate aid agencies. It is blocking assistance at its borders. It is requiring U.N. convoys to travel circuitous routes through scores of checkpoints to reach people in need. The regime has systematically blocked food shipments to strategically located districts, leading to a rising toll of death and misery.”
Syria Meets Chemical Weapons Deadline. From Geneva, the New York Times reports that Bashar al-Assad’s government “submitted a formal declaration of its chemical weapons program and its plans for destroying its arsenal three days ahead of the deadline.”
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, assigned with destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal, confirmed that it would review the “general plan of destruction” by Nov. 15.
“American officials said in September that Syria’s chemical weapons program included at least 45 sites. But when Syria submitted a preliminary declaration of its chemical weapons program that month, it declared only 23 sites,” wrote the Times.
“The State Department has never fully explained the discrepancy. Some of the gap, American officials have suggested, may reflect efforts by the Syrians to consolidate their chemical weapons stocks, as well as the haste in which the Assad government compiled the initial list. But American officials have also suggested that Syria’s preliminary declaration was not complete and stressed the need for the Assad government to do better in the formal declaration.”
Stray Shell from Syria Kills Man in Turkey. A stray mortar shell fired from Syria hit and killed a 35-year-old man in the southeastern Turkish border city of Ceylanpinar early today.
“The shell was fired during clashes between Kurdish and Islamist fighters in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain,” Reuters reports.
“Five people have now been killed in Turkey in similar incidents since clashes began in the area in July … in October last year a shell fired from Syria hit the Turkish border town of Akcakale, killing five Turkish citizens.”
Turkey has struggled to secure its borders from periodic clashes, fueled by the escalating turmoil in Syria. Turkish officials have built a wall along the border, or at least parts of it, and invited in NATO-manned patriot missiles to help patrol the skies.
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
Reuters: Kurdish Militants Tighten Grip on Syria’s Northeast
Reuters: Syrian Islamist Rebel Groups Declare Opposition to Geneva Talks
Al Jazeera: Brahimi Arrives in Damascus Amid Clashes
NPR: Why Destroying Syria’s Chemical Weapons May Be Tough, Despite Today’s Deadline
The Guardian: Give Syria Peace, Not a Conference
AFP: Russia Calls Rebel Threats Against Geneva Talks ‘Outrageous’
Daily Star: Abducted Bishops in Turkey, Syria’s Grand Mufti Says
AFP: Peace Envoy Heads for Syria, Russia Slams Rebel Threats
Washington Post: Syrian Troops Retake Christian Town North of Damascus After Pushing Out al-Qaida Linked Rebels
Time: Syria’s Breaking Bad: Are Amphetamines Funding the War?