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06Oct16
U.N. Syria Envoy Offers to Escort Rebel Fighters From Aleppo
The top United Nations diplomat for the Syria conflict proposed a new truce on Thursday, in hopes of averting what he called the destruction of rebel-held eastern Aleppo by Russian and Syrian forces. He offered to personally escort the jihadist fighters in the area to safety if the bombing is halted.
The proposal by the diplomat, Staffan de Mistura, reflected his despair over the relentless bombardment by the Syrian military and its Russian allies in the past few weeks, following the collapse of a cease-fire negotiated by Russia and the United States.
But Mr. de Mistura's proposal also was seen as part of a possible new diplomatic effort to press the Russians over their role in the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Aleppo, the divided Syrian city that was once the country's commercial capital and is now a sprawling urban kill zone.
Roughly 275,000 people in the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo have been subjected to indiscriminate aerial bombing that has killed hundreds, including many children. Outside access to that part of the city has been cut off.
Russia, which has been supporting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad for the past year with airstrikes and other military assistance, has said it is not responsible for the killing of civilians.
In Aleppo, the Russians have said, their targets are the radical jihadist fighters of the Nusra Front, an affiliate of Al Qaeda that is also known as the Levant Victory Front. Those fighters are regarded as enemies by the United States and its allies as well as by the Syrian government and Russia.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations offices in Geneva, Mr. de Mistura said opposition groups had a total of no more than 8,000 fighters in eastern Aleppo, including roughly 900 to 1,000 Nusra members. Their departure from the city, Mr. de Mistura said, would remove any justification by Russia and Syria for the ferocious bombardments.
"Are you really ready to continue this type of level of fighting?" he asked in a question directed at Russia, "and de facto destroy the whole city of eastern Aleppo, which is home to 275,000 people, for the sake of eliminating 1,000 Al Nusra fighters?"
Secretary of State John Kerry suspended talks last week with his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, over the continued bombing of Aleppo. France and Britain have likened the killing and destruction in Aleppo to atrocities like the bombing of Guernica in the Spanish Civil War and the mass killing in Srebrenica and siege of Sarajevo in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Mr. de Mistura warned that eastern Aleppo "may be totally destroyed" by Christmas.
He proposed that Syria and Russia immediately stop bombing there if the Nusra fighters promise to leave. Addressing his plea to those fighters, he said that if they depart with their dignity and their weapons, "I personally am ready physically to accompany you."
Mr. de Mistura's offer came as Mr. Lavrov was meeting in Moscow with the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault. France has proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would revive the cease-fire in Syria.
Mr. Lavrov told reporters that Russia was interested in studying Mr. de Mistura's proposal, but made no commitment to it.
Russia's approach to France's Security Council resolution also remained unclear, but diplomats at the United Nations said the Russians had been negotiating reluctantly.
Starting with Aleppo, the resolution would ground all warplanes over the city and ensure that humanitarian aid could get in. The French ambassador to the United Nations, François Delattre, said Thursday that he was determined to put it up for a vote.
[Source: By Nick Cumming-Bruce and Rick Gladstone, International New York Times, Geneva, 06Oct16]
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 | This document has been published on 10Oct16 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |