No Miracle Expected in Geneva, de Mistura Says

Miracles should not be expected from the current round of peace talks between government and rebel delegations in Geneva, warned U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura, Al Jazeera reported.

“I am not expecting miracles, I am not expecting breakthroughs … and I am not expecting breakdowns,” de Mistura said, adding that just the fact the two delegations managed to agree on the agenda was a step forward.

On the agenda for this round of talks, wrapping on Friday, is governance, political transition, the constitution, elections and counterterrorism.

The Syrian government envoy Bashar al-Jaafari accused the opposition of sabotaging the talks, and said that recent rebel offensives are “pushing everybody toward a total failure and fiasco in the political and diplomatic process.”

The chief opposition negotiation Nasr al-Hariri said the government was targeting civilians and insisted that a political solution could not include Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

“We reaffirm that we [are] here to rid our country from terrorism and I say that Syria will not be free from terrorism of Daesh [ISIS] … unless it is liberated first from the state terrorism practiced by the regime,” Hariri said.

U.S.-Backed Forces Advance, Take Tabqa Base

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have taken control of the Tabqa airbase in Raqqa province, BBC News reported.

The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces backed by the U.S., were able to push so-called Islamic State (ISIS) militants out of the strategic airbase, and continue advancing toward Raqqa city, ISIS’ de facto capital.

However, at least 89 civilians have been killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in the past week, according to the United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The SDF offensive also aims to take control of the Tabqa dam, where fears of the dam’s collapse and consequent flooding are spreading.

Airstrikes on Idlib Prison Kill 16 People

At least 16 people were killed in an airstrike on a prison in rebel-held Idlib on Friday night, Reuters reported.

Two jailers were among those killed, according to SOHR, and other people were shot dead when they attempted to flee the prison after the airstrike.

Idlib province is controlled by an array of rebel groups, including those backed by Ankara, rebels fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian army and various Islamist groups including the powerful Tahrir al-Sham alliance, led by the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria.

Idlib has recently been targeted by government, Russian and U.S.-coalition airstrikes.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• Al Monitor: What’s Chechnya Doing in Syria?
• The Atlantic: What’s Behind Israel’s Diplomatic Flare-Up With Russia
• The National Interest: Will the United States Be a Victim of Its Own Success in Syria?
• Atlantic Council: The Effects of Suspending American Aid to Moderate Syrian Opposition Groups
• The Syrian Observer: Russian Media Attacks Assad for Failure to Defend Damascus