U.N. Special Envoy Due in Syria on Friday to Discuss Aleppo Freeze Proposal

The U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura will travel to Syria on Saturday to hold talks about a U.N. proposal for the suspension of fighting in the northwestern city of Aleppo, AFP reports.

De Mistura has been working since October to advance a proposal for a 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.

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. Large swathes of Aleppo have been razed to the ground and many civilians have been killed since fighting began in the city in mid-2012.

“He will be heading to Damascus on Saturday to meet with senior Syrian government officials to follow up, obviously, on the cessation of hostilities and to have further consultations,” Stephane Dujarric, a U.N. spokesman, said on Thursday.

The special envoy said on February 18 that the Syrian government was willing to suspend air bombings for a period of six weeks in Aleppo.

The Aleppo plan also asks opposition forces, who have no air power, to hold off on using heavy weapons, including rockets and mortars, during the six-week suspension period.

Opposition groups have voiced skepticism about the plan and expressed fears that the government would exploit a cease-fire to regroup its forces in order to conduct more assaults elsewhere.

Syrian Government Expels Two Key U.N. Humanitarian Staffers

“The Syrian government expelled two key U.N. humanitarian staffers because of their contact with armed opposition groups while trying to arrange aid deliveries – a decision that could harm a new effort to secure a six-week truce in the country’s largest city,” AP reports, citing U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos.

The humanitarian chief said the expulsions this month “set a worrying precedent for all humanitarian staff in Syria, in that any staff member in contact with armed opposition groups for the purpose of negotiating access is potentially under threat of being declared persona non grata.”

The Syrian government has been repeatedly blamed for hindering aid access to millions of people inside Syria who are in desperate need of assistance.

Efforts by the U.N. aid groups to access those in need have also been further complicated by multiple armed groups and the recent rise of the Islamic State inside the war-torn country.

The expulsion of the two U.N. staffers suggests that efforts to secure a six-week suspension of government airstrikes in Aleppo is at risk.

“Whilst the government of Syria is giving public support to the Special Envoy’s freeze initiative, they are making it difficult to actually implement it, should agreement be reached by the Special Envoy with all parties,” Amos said. “The government has removed a key humanitarian staff member with the contacts to negotiate access with a wide range of armed opposition groups in Aleppo, and who was expected to play a leading role in the event that the freeze materializes.

“The expulsions also will have a significant impact on the entire humanitarian operation for Syria, as the two staffers played a critical role in helping to coordinate inter-agency aid convoys and maintained direct contact with key armed opposition groups for negotiating aid access,” Amos added.

The news comes as Security Council members on Thursday expressed their support for de Mistura’s freeze proposal initiative.

“Even Syria’s ally Russia urged the Syrian government to ‘go the extra mile’ to find an agreement with de Mistura on the Aleppo plan, which the envoy has said could be replicated elsewhere in the country if successful,” AP writes.

Masked Islamic State Executioner is Identified

The masked Islamic State militant responsible for executing journalists and aid workers in beheading videos produced and circulated by ISIS has been named, according to multiple reports on Thursday.

Authorities and people familiar with the case claim the man, formerly known only as “Jihadi John,” is actually Mohammed Emwazi, from west London, Time reports.

Emwazi is believed to have appeared in multiple videos depicting the killing of hostages, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning and U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter.

“I have no doubt that Mohammed is Jihadi John,” the Washington Post wrote, citing an unnamed friend of Emwazi. “He was like a brother to me … I am sure it is him.”

“Security services have known his identity for some time but have not revealed it to the public,” the BBC reports.

The news comes amid reports that up to 287 Assyrians – one of the world’s oldest Christian communities – were taken hostage after dawn raids in which ISIS seized villages inhabited by the Christian minority from Kurdish forces. The raids took place near the town of Tel Hmar, a mainly Assyrian town, in the province of Hassakeh.

The U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State responded by launching airstrikes on Thursday near the town of Tel Tamr, where the militants had captured 10 Assyrian villages.

The kidnappings have magnified fears of more atrocities targeting Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.

“The assault on the Assyrian communities comes amid battles for a key crossroads in the area,” writes the New York Times.

“The militants have prosecuted a relentless campaign in Iraq and Syria against what have historically been religiously and ethnically diverse areas with traces of civilizations dating to ancient Mesopotamia.”

Last week, reports claimed that Mosul’s central library, in Iraq, had been ransacked by ISIS and 100,000 books and manuscripts burned.

“The escalating devastation culminated on Thursday with the release of a five-minute video purportedly showing militants using sledgehammers to smash ancient artifacts in the city,” the Guardian reports.

Recommended Reads – Huffington Post: All It Takes to Cross from Turkey to ISIS-Held Syria is $25 – Agence France-Presse: Several Canadians Headed to Syria to Join ISIS – Time: Masked ISIS Executioner is Identified – Reuters: Airstrikes Hit Islamic State in Syria after Christians Abducted

Photo Courtesy of AP Images