Astana Peace Talks Postponed

A new round of Syria peace talks set to start in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Wednesday has been postponed for one day “for technical reasons,” Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said.

“The negotiations have been moved to February 16 for technical reasons,” a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Agence France-Presse by telephone. She did not give any further explanation for the delay.

Russia, Iran and Turkey are leading the Astana talks, which aim to consolidate the nationwide cease-fire that came into effect in December. United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura was also invited to the talks, but he is unable to attend and is instead sending a “technical team” to represent his office, Al Jazeera reported.

On Monday, rebels threatened to stay away from the talks “because the Russian side did not abide by what they agreed to before during and after Astana to uphold the cease-fire agreement,” Mohammad al-Aboud, a senior rebel official, told Reuters.

U.S. Used Depleted Uranium in Syria and Iraq

The United States military fired thousands of rounds of depleted uranium munitions in two raids against militants of the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in 2015, Foreign Policy reported.

This is the first confirmed usage of depleted uranium munitions since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Its use there attracted condemnation from the Iraqi government, which said the weapons “constitute a danger to human beings and the environment” in a 2014 U.N. report.

Depleted uranium is considered a “radiation health hazard when inside the body,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The raids in 2015 were part of operation “Tidal Wave II,” a mission targeting the infrastructure that helps ISIS earn revenue from oil. The first attack hit al-Bukamal, a Syrian city in the province of Deir Ezzor near the Iraqi border, on November 16 and destroyed 116 tanker trucks.

On November 22, depleted uranium munitions were used a second time, allegedly destroying some 283 ISIS trucks, according to Foreign Policy.

In March 2015, months before the attacks, coalition spokesman John Moore said, “U.S. and coalition aircraft have not been and will not be using depleted uranium munitions in Iraq or Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve.”

Russian Jets Join Battle Between Regime, Rebels in Daraa

Russian jets attacked the southern city of Daraa for the second day in a row on Tuesday, part of a larger Syrian regime campaign against an opposition offensive, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, rebels launched an offensive named “Death Rather than Humiliation,” targeting regime-controlled areas in Daraa in an attempt to prevent regime troops from gaining control of the border crossing with Jordan. Pro-government forces control the majority of Daraa’s northern and western neighborhoods, and opposition groups control areas in the south and east, Syria Direct reported.

The clashes and airstrikes are some of the fiercest Daraa has seen since Russia intervened in the conflict more than a year ago. The casualty numbers are still unclear, but the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported that at least 50 people from both sides have been killed since the offensive began.

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