Fighting Puts Syria Peace Negotiations at Risk

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

A dozen Syrian rebel factions have suspended talks on new peace negotiations, accusing President Bashar Assad's regime of violating a four-day-old ceasefire with attacks near Damascus that continued Tuesday.

The decision threatens the process sponsored by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey, which began with a truce and is meant to lead to negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana this month.

The ceasefire has brought quiet to large parts of the country but has been undermined by sporadic violence, particularly fighting in the Wadi Barada region north of Damascus that supplies the capital's water.

Government forces backed by fighters from Lebanon's Hizbullah continue to press a two-week offensive there despite the ceasefire which began on December 30.

A dozen rebel groups announced late Monday the "freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations."

They said they had respected the ceasefire, but accused the regime of "major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta," near Damascus.

"If things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," they said.

It was signed by a dozen groups, including the Army of Islam, Faylaq al-Sham, and the Sultan Murad Brigade, which is close to Turkey.

- 'Critical phase' -

Fierce fighting in Wadi Barada continued on Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

Government forces used barrel bombs and artillery after advancing on Monday to the outskirts of the Ain al-Fijeh spring, the area's main water source, it said.

The regime accuses rebels of deliberately damaging infrastructure there, poisoning the water supply with fuel then cutting the flow to Damascus altogether.

Rebels say government strikes caused the damage, which has left four million people in Damascus without water since December 22.

The regime says former al-Qaida affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front is in the area, a claim opposition fighters deny.

Fateh al-Sham, along with the Islamic State (IS) group, is excluded from the truce.

Syrian state media has been conspicuously quiet on the Wadi Barada battle, but Damascus governor Alaa Ibrahim told the al-Watan daily that the army was progressing.

"Military operations are under way, and God willing there will be happy news soon," he told the newspaper, which is close to the government.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman warned the truce was in a "critical phase" and faced "collapse" if sponsors Russia and Turkey did not intervene to save it.

The monitor reported violations elsewhere in the country on Tuesday, including air strikes on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the northwestern province of Idlib that killed a pregnant woman and wounded three other civilians.

Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday it had noted 27 ceasefire violations around Damascus and in Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces over the previous 24 hours, but did not say who was responsible. 

It added that the Turkish side of a joint monitoring mission had recorded 18 violations.

The Observatory said air strikes targeted a Fateh Al-Sham base where senior members of the group were meeting near Sarmada in Idlib province. 

It was not clear whether the strike was carried out by the regime, Russia or an U.S.-led coalition jet, Abdel Rahman said. He did not say how many casualties it caused.

An AFP correspondent saw several strikes hitting the town including one on a Fateh Al-Sham checkpoint.

- Spillover in Turkey -

The ceasefire and planned talks are the latest effort to negotiate an end to Syria's conflict, which has killed more than 310,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Despite backing opposite sides in the conflict, Ankara and Moscow have worked closely of late, brokering a deal allowing civilians and rebels to leave Aleppo city before government troops seized it last month.

Russian-Turkish efforts have been backed by the U.N. Security Council, despite offering a competing track to U.N.-sponsored talks set to resume in Geneva in February.

Russia and Turkey, which are organizing the talks in Astana along with regime ally Iran, say they are meant to supplement the U.N.-backed process, not replace it.

Both Russia and Turkey have launched military interventions in Syria. Moscow entered on the government's side in September 2015, while Ankara began an offensive against IS and Kurdish militants in August 2016.

The conflict has spilled into Turkey, with a string of deadly attacks claimed by or blamed on IS or Kurdish groups.

On Monday, IS claimed responsibility for a New Year's attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people.

Turkey's Hurriyet daily reported Tuesday that the attacker had fought for IS in Syria.

Comments 16
Thumb _mowaten_ 03 January 2017, 12:26

"but the regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada"

Wadi Barada, where rebels poisoned damascus' source of drinking water, endangering the lives of millions of people? excuse me if i cheer while the SAA turns them into meatballs.

Missing cedars 03 January 2017, 14:09

Do not be surprised again if they sent car bombs to your areas in retaliation of your militia supporting Assad war. You do know that you are costing the state extra money to plant army posts around your areas and cause major traffic jams to screen any ingress/egress. You prefer to always live in fear versus any other area in Lebanon.

Thumb EagleDawn 03 January 2017, 16:27

@flametroller
are you past 6th grade?

Thumb Mystic 03 January 2017, 17:37

Everytime your takfiri rebels explodes a car bomb or suicide in our neighbourhoods, you make even more people join the Resistance as a result.

Thumb Mystic 03 January 2017, 17:37

That means even more Resistance recruits going to Syria.

Thumb jaafar.ibn.iblees 03 January 2017, 17:50

and those recruits will face the same fate as the iranian sectarian jihadist family in your avatar?

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 03 January 2017, 18:01

Mowatan Irani - please stop the lies. The rebels did not poison the water. The regime made such a claim initially (diesel poured into the house water) and when it was pointed the absurdity of the claim considering the amount needed to poison that much water, they claimed that the pumps were blown up by the rebels. Video footage however show clearly that the pumping facility was barrel bombed from the air - which could have done by regime.

Thumb justice 03 January 2017, 18:55

the filty iranian paid mouthpiece always ready to post the regime's propaganda... shameless scumbag

Missing rabbishlomo 03 January 2017, 19:32

hahahahaha, All my respect to cedars for his concerns regarding the militia costing the State!

Thumb enterprise 04 January 2017, 03:59

ولايتي: “حزب الله” لن يخرج من سوريا

أعلن علي أكبر ولايتي، المستشار الأول للمرشد الإيراني علي خامنئي أن “حزب الله” لن يخرج من سوريا، رغم اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار في هذا البلد.كلام ولايتي جاء خلال مؤتمر صحافي عقده في طهران، عقب لقاء جمعه مع نائب الرئيس العراقي نوري المالكي. وأضاف: “خروج “حزب الله” من سوريا، بعد اتفاق وقف اطلاق النار، دعاية الأعداء”.

Thumb justin 03 January 2017, 14:55

as if the troll's militia is not besieging and starving entire cities and villages in Syria like Madaya among many.

Thumb willy.pete222 03 January 2017, 13:26

_mowaten_ is the modern day version of Joseph Goebbels who said “ “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
if you don't know who I mean ..you should !
look it up

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 January 2017, 13:31

easy way to recognize zioonazis: they always refer to their spiritual masters the nazis in their hasbara and trolling.

Thumb walid121 03 January 2017, 13:34

mowaten I'm not a big poster here but I have been using this site for over 50 years and recently I have been liking your posts, your the only one informing these deluded ignorants. :)

Thumb pinocchio 03 January 2017, 13:50

Hey _mowaten_…you are one man army...in this site so many personnels against you and you never backdown you tweet them back like a secular birdie on Twitter…I salute your shia iranian spirit.. I luv it.

Thumb enterprise 04 January 2017, 04:59

please, watch this episode of DNA!

An Assad mouthpiece confirms the regime and its intelligence services coordinate with ISIS.

DNA - 03/01/2017 خالد العبود..فاضِح سر الأسد
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALEryUOrMfA