Tag Archives: Syria
23 January 2014
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened on 22 January 2014 a concerted new effort to end the brutal civil war in Syria, urging the government, the opposition, and representatives of some 40 other states and regional organisations to seize the historic opportunity to end the bloodshed.
The meeting of the high-level segment of the UN peace conference on Syria in Montreux, Switzerland, which is intended to give international support to the efforts to resolve the deadly conflict that has torn Syria apart, will be followed on 24 January by talks between the Syrian parties at the UN headquarters in Geneva in what will be the first time that the government and opposition meet at a negotiating table since the conflict started in March 2011. The basis of the talks is full implementation of an action plan adopted in the so-called Geneva Communiqué of 2012, which calls for a transitional government to lead to free and fair elections.
‘You have an enormous opportunity and responsibility to render historic service to the Syrian people,’ Mr. Ban said, specifically addressing the Syrian government and opposition delegations. He stressed that the Syrians themselves have the primary responsibility to end the conflict, determine their political system and future, and start rebuilding their country, while the duty of all members of the international community, whether present at the conference or not, is to do everything within their power to help them achieve these goals.
Source: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon | Latest Statements | Secretary-General's remarks at the High Level Segment of the Geneva Conference on Syria | Montreux, 22 January 2014
Source: Action Group for Syria | Final Communique | 30.06.2012
9 January 2014
The removal of the most critical material for destruction began on 7 January 2014, a week after the deadline for its completion set by an agreement brokered by Russia and the United States under which Syria renounced its chemical weapons material and joined the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons. ‘This movement is very important because it’s the first important step in an expected process of continued movement for the onward destruction out of country’ Sigrid Kaag, head of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations told reporters after updating the Security Council on the accord, which set 30 June for the elimination of all materials. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Security Council expects Syria to meet June deadline for chemical weapons removal, official says
8 January 2014
The New York Times reports that Saudi Arabia, which supports the ousting of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, has become the main backer of the Syrian rebels, even when these include Islamists who fight alongside militants loyal to Al Qaeda. Also, at least a thousand of Saudies have travelled to Syria to fight with rebel forces. Even though Saudi Arabia officially bans their citizens from going to Syria for jihad, this ban is not enforced.
Source: The New York Times | Saudis Back Syrian Rebels Despite Risks
6 January 2014
The United States has sent dozens of Hellfire missiles and low-tech surveillance drones to Iraq to help government forces combat an violence by an Al-Qaeda-backed insurgency that is gaining territory in both western Iraq and Syria. The assistance was requested by the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The New York Times reports that American intelligence and counterterrorism officials say they have effectively mapped the locations and origins of the Al-Qaeda network in Iraq and are sharing this information with the Iraqis.
The Iraqi military has a very limited ability to locate and quickly strike Al-Qaeda militants. The combination of American-supplied Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, tactical drones and intelligence, supplied by the United States, is intended to augment that limited Iraqi ability.
Source: The New York Times | U.S. Sends Arms to Aid Iraq Fight With Extremists
12 December 2013
A United States embassy spokesman in Turkey announced that the US has suspended all non-lethal aid to the opposition in northern Syria, after forces from the Islamic Front (a new coalition of six major Islamist rebel groups) seized bases and warehouses belonging to the Western-backed Supreme Military Council (SMC). Likewise, a spokesman from the British embassy in Turkey stated that ‘We have no plans to deliver any equipment while the situation remains so unclear. We will keep this under close review.’
The Islamic Front disconnected last week from the SMC and Free Syrian Army (FSA), and took over the headquarters and weapons warehouses at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. According to the US spokesman, the situation is being investigated to ‘inventory the status of U.S. equipment and supplies provided to the SMC.’ The US alone has committed 250 million dollar worth non-lethal assistance (food rations, medical supplies, but possibly also communications equipment, intelligence assistance and body armour) to be delivered to the Syrian National Coalition, local opposition councils, and the SMC.
The Islamic Front’s success in capturing the weapons stores could undermine SMC assurances to the US that no supplies sent to their fighters would fall into the hands of Islamist brigades.
Source: Reuters | U.S., Britain suspend aid to north Syria after Islamists seize weapons store
Source: Foreign Policy | U.S. Suspends Non-Lethal Aid into Northern Syria