Syrian Government Mulling Open Humanitarian Access
Lara Jakes and Lori Hinnant of the AP report that the Syrian government and opposition have agreed to consider opening humanitarian aid access to harder-hit parts of the country.
“Speaking in the midst of a two-day series of meetings in Paris, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also said they were pressing for a cease-fire and prisoner exchange between the warring sides,” they write.
“But Syria’s government derided the meetings in Paris, saying in a statement they were ‘closer to illusions than reality and taken by people who are detached from reality and extremely far from any acceptable political logic.’ Russia has been one of Syria’s closest allies.
Al-Qaida Retakes Ground in Rebel Infighting
Anne Barnard of the New York Times reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) “has retaken significant parts of the territory in northern Syria that rival insurgent groups had wrested away” during heavy fighting over the last week and a half.
“There were signs, too, that government forces were beginning to exploit the rebel infighting, by pushing towards insurgent-held eastern Aleppo and threatening to cut rebel supply routes from Turkey to the divided city, which is Syria’s largest,” she says.
“The developments dampened hopes of the insurgents opposed to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, that they could quickly subdue or co-opt the group, which has tried to establish itself as a government in many rebel-held areas.”
ISIS “has aroused widespread resentment from other insurgents for imposing strict Islamic rules, killing rival rebels and distracting from the fight against the government of President Bashar al-Assad — the underlying reason behind the nearly three-year-old civil war in Syria.”
Questioning the Islamic Front
Activist and al-Monitor contributor Edward Dark writes an op-ed for the website’s Syria Pulse section about the Islamic Front, the Saudi-backed collection of religiously conservative rebel groups who’ve taken on al-Qaida in nearly two weeks of intense fighting.
“Make no mistake, this is not a ‘resurgence’ of the Syrian revolution,” Dark says. “It is simply a cutthroat struggle for power, between jihadist groups of similar ideology, distinct only in name and the identity of their backers, albeit with slightly differing methods of imposing their doctrines on the ground.
“It is no secret that the Islamic Front now trying to wipe out ISIS is heavily backed and funded by Saudi Arabia, and in this light we can understand the real reasons and timing behind this sudden, all-out war. After the Islamic Front last month effectively destroyed the moderate Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army led by Gen. Salim Idris, it effectively rendered the Geneva talks meaningless and their outcome void.”
Charities Pledge $400 Million for Syria Aid, Ahead of Kuwait Donor Conference
Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper reports that money will continue to flow from the Gulf into Syria, this time in the form of humanitarian aid.
“Non-governmental organizations have pledged a combined $400 million for humanitarian aid for Syria ahead of an international donor conference to be held in Kuwait,” it said, referencing KUNA, Kuwait’s official news agency.
“The donor conference, which opens on Wednesday, aims to help the United Nations raise $6.5 billion in 2014 to help Syrians inside and outside of the country. A donor conference last year in Kuwait raised $1.5 billion to help provide food, drinking water and shelter.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
NY Times: U.S. Presses Opposition to Join Talks
WSJ: Fighting Among Rebels Boosts Syrian Regime
TIME: Syria’s Deadly Barrel Bombs: Assad Regime Uses Devastating, Makeshift Weapon
AP: Syria’s Civil War Leaves At Least 40 Dead in Besieged Camp
Guardian: Turkish Raid Aid Agency’s Offices in Crackdown on al-Qaida
Reuters: Fighting Halts Polio Vaccination in Northern Syria