To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.
Assad Will Lead Syria Through Any Transition, His Officials Say.
A Syrian government minister says that President Bashar al-Assad will [retain the presidency][1] and lead any transition agreed upon during January’s Geneva peace talks.
“If anyone thinks we are going to Geneva II to hand the keys to Damascus over (to the opposition), then he might as well not go,” Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said in remarks carried by the official SANA news agency, as cited by the AFP.
“The decision rests with President Assad. He will lead the period of transition, if there is one. He is the leader of Syria … and he will remain the president of Syria,” Zohbi said. He added that Saudi Arabia, a critic of Assad and a backer of rebel forces, should be excluded from Geneva II peace talks.
Humanitarian Crisis Is Worsening, Says U.N. Relief Chief.
U.N. Under Secretary General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said that despite international efforts, the [humanitarian crisis in Syria is worsening][2] , according to the New York Times.
“Ms. Amos said that nine aid convoys had entered Syria over the past month, three times as many as in earlier months, but this is still far too few to meet the needs of the millions of people,” writes Rick Gladstone.
“In the two months since the Security Council unanimously approved a presidential statement urging all sides to allow emergency humanitarian access, she said, some other advances had been made, including the appointment of interlocutors to help relief teams distribute aid. But on the protection of civilians, demilitarization of schools and hospitals and access to hardest-to-reach areas, Ms. Amos said, ‘We have not seen any progress on those.’”
Al-Qaida Targets Syria’s Turkmen Minority
Amberin Zaman reports for Al Monitor that al-Qaida fighters in northern Syria are now [targeting the country’s small Turkmen minority.][3]
“We used to live in peace in our orchards, now we are being attacked from all sides,” Omar Abdullah, a local Turkman fighter, told Al Monitor. “The regime bombs us with MiGs [Russian-made fighter jets] from the air, with tanks from the land and with ships from the sea, and now we are being attacked by ISIS,” he said.
The writer ties it to a broader trend of escalating tension between al-Qaida and the ethnic Turkmen.
“Relations between ISIS and the Turkmen who are fighting to overthrow the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) were initially cordial. When the ISIS militants first rolled in with their flashy weapons and SUVs they were on their best behavior. But soon they began replacing local schoolteachers and imams and preaching their rigid, unsmiling brand of Islam.”
Suhair Atassi Resigns as Vice President of the Syrian National Coalition.
Suhair Atassi, one of the opposition’s highest-ranking women, has become the latest high-ranking official to [resign from the Syrian National Coalition.][4], the embattled opposition in exile.
Atassi “will remain a member of the coalition and also retain her position as chairwoman for the umbrella opposition aid agency, the Assistance Coordination Unit, based in Turkey,” Lauren Williams reports for Lebanon’s Daily Star.
“Atassi has recently come under fire for her work in both capacities with the ACU and the coalition. Last week, 25 members of the ACU’s staff went on strike, claiming concerns over mismanagement of aid delivery and funding that they say have gone unaddressed by Atassi,” the paper wrote.
Israel Sends Humanitarian Aid to Syria
The AP reports that Israel, a longtime enemy of Syria, is now “[providing humanitarian aid to victims of the civil war inside Syria][5], saying it has funneled food and other emergency supplies to embattled villages just across the frontier.
The wire quotes Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon as saying that “we can’t sit by and watch the humanitarian difficulties on the other side. We’ve transferred water, food, including baby food, taking into consideration that these villages are besieged and they don’t have access to any other place.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
Wall Street Journal: [
U.S. Allies Reach Out to Syria’s Islamist Rebels][6]
NBC: [Desperate Syrian Rebels Turn Homes into Weapons Factories][7]
Guardian: [Syrian Chemical Weapons to be Shipped in Delicate U.S.- Danish Operation][8]
Washington Institute: [Rebels Consolidating Strength in Syria: The Islamic Front][9]
EU Observer: [Increase in Europeans Fighting in Syria][10]
NBC News: [Syria’s Medieval Marvel Marred][11]
[2]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/world/middleeast/top-un-relief-official-says-syria-crisis-worsening.html?ref=world [2]http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/syria-al-qaeda-targets-turkmen-minority-isis-jihadist-kurds.html#%23ixzz2mUnq4Rp0 [3]http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Dec-04/239831-atassi-resigns-as-vice-president-for-syria-national-coalition.ashx#axzz2mUmcvyZk [4]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/world/middleeast/israel-sends-humanitarian-aid-to-syria.html?ref=world&_r=0 [5]http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304579404579236350695601652 [6]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/desperate-syrian-rebels-turn-homes-weapons-factories-v21549723 [7]http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/syria-chemical-weapons-removed-us-danish-operation [8]http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/rebels-consolidating-strength-in-syria-the-islamic-front#.Up7jixhyQUo.twitter [9] http://euobserver.com/tickers/122342? [10]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/holiday-calendar-syrias-medieval-marvel-marred-v21744194