New Round of Peace Talks to Begin in Geneva
The BBC reports on the follow-up round of peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition, set to begin today in Geneva.
“The first round of talks ended last month with no firm agreements and with both sides trading insults,” it reports.
“At the end of the last talks on 31 January, the two warring sides appeared to be a long way away from reaching any compromise. The government insists the talks focus on fighting “terrorism” – its description of the uprising – but the opposition says that the priority should be the removal of President Bashar al-Assad. It has insisted that the government commit in writing to the 2012 Geneva I communique, which called for the formation of a transitional government.”
Syrians Flee Besieged Old Homs in Aid Convoy
Reuters reports that 600 people left the besieged areas of rebel-held central Homs on Sunday, after a year of hunger and deprivation “caused by one of the most protracted blockades of Syria’s devastating conflict.” The evacuation was brought about during negotiations between the government and opposition in Geneva.
“The evacuees, mainly women, children and old men, were brought out by the United Nations and Syrian Red Crescent on the third day of an operation during which the aid convoys came under fire and were briefly trapped themselves in the city. Video footage from inside Homs showed scores of residents, carrying a few bags of possessions, rushing across an open expanse of no-man’s land towards 10 white vehicles with U.N. markings. Gunshots could be heard as they raced to the cars.
“‘The last vehicle has arrived and the total is 611 people,’ Homs governor Talal Barazi told regional Arab broadcaster Al Mayadeen at a meeting point for evacuees outside the city.”
Break in Siege Is Little Relief to Syrian City
The New York Times reports on what it says was supposed to be a “small breakthrough, a moment of relief” for besieged Homs, but which was interrupted by chaos and an attack on a U.N. convoy meant to be evacuating civilians.
“But mortar rounds and gunfire struck near aid convoys, damaging vehicles and leaving victims lying in the streets. Snipers fired on civilians as they fled their besieged neighborhood. Others refused to leave, fearing a massacre of those left behind. Limited food made it in, and some of the nearly 700 people who reached safety said they had been surviving on one meal a day and that some of their neighbors had resorted to eating grass,” writes Ben Hubbard
“Though few expect the international peace talks that resume in Geneva on Monday to end the war, many hope they will make life less brutal for ordinary Syrians by creating local cease-fires and opening up access to aid. But what took place in Homs highlights the tremendous difficulties plaguing even modest humanitarian efforts, making it unlikely that the episode will emerge as a model to be repeated elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports from Homs on reasons the aid plan for the city “is far from universally welcome.
“The relief effort has stirred deep animosities among many government supporters, who view it as a sellout to opposition forces — ‘terrorists,’ in official terms — hunkered down in the ruins of the Old City.
“‘This is basically giving the terrorists food and medicine and letting them go free,’ said Rihab Ismael, a dairy worker who lives in the Zahra district, a sniper-plagued zone less than a mile from what remains of the rebel-controlled Old City. ‘We desperately need help here too. Why is everything concentrated on the ones who made our lives unbearable?’”
Activists Say ISIS Top Commander Killed in Syria
Al-Arabiya reports that “a commander and military mastermind for the hardline Islamic State of Iraq and [the Levant] rebel group was killed on Saturday after clashes with the al-Qaida affliated al-Nusra Front in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
“The Libyan commander known as Abu Dajana is ISIS’s chief in Deir al-Zour. Abu Dajana’s killing comes after Al-Nusra Front and rebel brigades, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, launched a new offensive against their former ally ISIS in the eastern province. Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist rebel allies have reclaimed control of factories and grain mills in Dier al-Zour, activists said. The activists also reported other clashes between ISIS and other rebel groups in the northwestern province of Aleppo. While ISIS was once welcomed by rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, excessive abuses by the group turned much of the opposition against them.”
Islamist Fighters Take Alawite City
Reuters also reports that Islamist fighters seized an Alawite village in central Hama province over the weekend, “part of an offensive to try to cut off supply routes from Damascus to the north of the country.
“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the Islamists killed 25 people in the village of Maan, mainly from a pro-Assad National Defence Force militia. But the government said the dead were mainly women and children and accused the fighters of committing a massacre on the eve of the resumption of peace talks in Geneva.
“Residents of Maan, around five miles east of Syria’s main north-south highway, are from the same Alawite minority as the Assad family which has ruled Syria for the last four decades. Rebels fighting to overthrow Assad are overwhelmingly from the country’s Sunni Muslim majority, backed by Islamist and jihadi fighters from across the Islamic world.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
Reuters Exclusive: Brahimi to Meet Syria Sides Separately, Demands Peace Commitment Document
Reuters: Al Qaida Splinter Group Withdraws from Oil-Rich Syrian Province
Al Arabiya: Saudi Arabia Calls for Urgent U.N. Meeting on Syria
AP: France to Float New UN Resolution on Syria
WSJ: Hundreds in Besieged City of Homs, Syria, Saved Under Fire