U.N. Cease-fire Proposal in Doubt as Government Forces Capture Key Villages in Aleppo
On Wednesday, U.N. envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said Syria was prepared to suspend its aerial bombardment of Aleppo for a period of six weeks as part of a trial cease-fire.
The Guardian reports that the advance of Syrian government troops, who claim they have surrounded rebels in Aleppo, is “at odds with the U.N. mediator’s assertion that Damascus is ready to declare a local six-week cease-fire.”
The Syrian army has made rapid advances near Aleppo in recent days. More than 100 soldiers and rebels were killed on Tuesday as government forces captured several areas of countryside north of Aleppo as they tried to cut a crucial rebel supply route inside the city. The assault brought government forces closer to their goal of besieging rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo.
“If government forces succeed in fully besieging opposition-held areas, the move will pose the greatest threat to the rebels’ position in the area since anti-Assad fighters stormed parts of the city in 2012,” AP reports.
Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, is at the heart of clashes between government forces and insurgents that include Jabhat al-Nusra, Islamist brigades and Western-backed rebels.
“Rebels in the city had feared encirclement by both government forces north of Aleppo and Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in the province’s countryside, and are on the defensive in the city,” the Guardian writes.
According to the pro-government al-Watan newspaper, government forces hope to completely surround Aleppo this week.
De Mistura has been working since October to advance a proposal for local cease-fire or “incremental freeze zones” across Syria, starting with the city of Aleppo, in an attempt to halt the fighting and provide humanitarian aid to civilians.
Opposition groups have expressed fears that the government would exploit cease-fires to regroup their forces for more assaults elsewhere. Elsewhere in the country, local opposition groups have signed cease-fire agreements with government forces – however, analysts claim they are usually “more like surrender agreements than ceasefires,” TIME reports.
U.S. Identifies 1,200 Potential Fighters for Syria Train and Equip Program
The U.S. has thus far earmarked around 1,200 potential Syrian opposition fighters for a train and equip program to battle the Islamic State, Reuters reports, citing the Pentagon.
The program, aimed to begin in March at multiple sites outside of Syria, will train more than 5,000 fighters a year, after they undergo vetting for the program using both U.S government databases as well as intelligence from regional partners.
According to a U.S. official, up to 3,000 could be trained by the end of this year.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have publicly acknowledged offers to host training sites. A U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the training would likely commence in Jordan.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby did not specify which country would host the potential recruits. “There’s about 1,200 individuals who have been identified for participation – potential participation – in this process and in this program,” Kirby told a news conference. “Where they will be trained, I don’t have that information right now.”
“The Syrian fighters would be equipped with items including pick-up trucks with mounted machine guns, radios and global positioning system trackers,” U.S. officials told Reuters.
Turkey hopes that the training will bolster the weakened and fragmented opposition that is currently involved in a two-front fight against extremists and the Syrian regime. Turkey has indicated that Assad’s departure remains its focus in Syria and expressed reluctance to join the U.S.-led coalition strikes against the Islamic State. Washington’s priority remains fighting the militant group.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Islamic State controls nearly half of Turkey’s porous 500-mile border with Syria, posing a great challenge to Western efforts to prevent foreign fighters from using the frontier as a gateway to the battlefields of Iraq and Syria.
Recommended Reads:
- New York Times: From a Private School in Cairo to ISIS Killing Fields in Syria
- Al Monitor: Wiretaps Reveal Turkey’s Attacks on Syrian Regime Positions
- TIME: Why Syria’s Rebels Fear Assad’s Cease-fire Promise
- Guardian: Syrians Have Been Oppressed by a Dictator and Jihadists, and Bombed by the West – and You Call us Terrorists?
- Daily Star: Aleppo Clashes Rage after U.N. Envoy’s Offer
- Wall Street Journal: Porous Syria-Turkey Border Poses Challenge in Fight Against Islamic State