(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Geneva/Beirut: Rival negotiators arrived in Geneva yesterday for UN-brokered talks aimed at ending Syria's six-year conflict with persistent violence and deadlock over the country's political future dampening hopes of a breakthrough.
President Bashar Al Assad's delegation and an opposition team are in the Swiss city for today's resumption of talks, after a 10-month hiatus.
The government delegation, which as previously is headed by Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Al Jaafari, arrived yesterday morning and went straight to an upscale hotel near the Geneva airport.
The main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), headed by cardiologist Nasr Al Hariri and lawyer Mohammad Sabra, arrived a few hours later and went to a separate high-end hotel nearby.
The ground mdash; both in territory and diplomatically mdash; has shifted since the last round of talks broke up in April 2016 and the rebels are in a significantly weaker position.
Meanwhile, the Syrian army and its allies took a small district on the outskirts of Aleppo from rebels yesterday, a war monitor and a military media unit run by Damascus ally Hezbollah said.
The advance was the army's first from its lines in Aleppo city since rebels departed their enclave there in December, and came as government and opposition delegations arrived in Geneva for peace talks sponsored by the United Nations.
'The Syrian army and its allies control Souq Al Jibs, west of Assad suburb in southwest Aleppo, said the Hezbollah military media unit in a message. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the army had taken the district.
Syria's President Bashar Al Assad has relied closely on allies such as Russia, Iran and Shia militias, including Hezbollah, to make steady gains against rebels in western parts of the country and drive them from Aleppo in December.
Rebel forces in the area, which include both jihadist and nationalist groups, have periodically shelled parts of government-held Aleppo from positions in the western countryside nearby since the fighting inside the city stopped.
Clashes on the western side of Aleppo and its surroundings as the army and its allies advanced were accompanied by heavy shelling and aerial bombardment, said the Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor.
After the rebels were driven from their Aleppo enclave in December, Russia and Turkey - important foreign backers for the opposing sides in the war - sponsored a ceasefire aimed at being a prelude to peace talks.
However, although the intensity of fighting has calmed somewhat, violence continues across the country.
Russia's foreign minister says Moscow is open for dialogue with the United States on safety zones in Syria, noting that any such initiative needs to be coordinated with the Syrian government.
Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday he had briefly discussed the issue with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when they met in Germany last week.
President Donald Trump has floated safe zones as a substitute for resettling refugees in the United States and elsewhere around the globe.
Lavrov noted that Russia will wait for the US to clarify its position. He said quot;any such initiatives concerning the territory of Syria need to be coordinated with the Syrian government.quot;
He added that Moscow stands ready to discuss this and other proposals regarding possible US-Russian cooperation in Syria.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) made limited territorial gains in Al Bab yesterday amid hopes of decisively capturing the city from the embattled Daesh terrorist group. Supported by the Turkish military, FSA fighters have managed to push Daesh back to Al Bab's Kef intersection on the edge of the town center, a high-ranking FSA officer said.
quot;Our advance is being hindered by an elaborate tunnel system in which the militants have planted numerous mines and booby traps,quot; field commander Ahmed Al Shahabi told Anadolu Agency.
The FSA now reportedly controls most of the city's western and southwestern districts.
quot;With the use of these tunnels, the militants are able to attack us in areas under our control,quot; al-Shahabi said, adding that Daesh had left explosive-laden vehicles on every street of the city.
According to the commander, FSA fighters are now in the process of gradually eliminating these traps with a view to limiting civilian casualties.
Al-Shahabi also pointed out that Daesh militants had outfitted these tunnels with railways linking Al-Bab to villages on the city's outskirts.
Vehicles, he said, especially motorbikes, were able to move through these tunnels freely, thus avoiding the threat of airstrikes.
According to al-Shahabi, local residents caught smoking -- forbidden under Daesh rule -- were forced to dig the tunnel system after which they were executed to preserve the secrecy of the tunnels' locations.
Turkish support for the FSA comes within the context of Operation Euphrates Shield, a Turkish-led campaign that began last August and is aimed at eliminating the terrorist presence in northern Syria.
MENAFN2602201700630000ID1095271434
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.