Syrian government accused of 'starve or surrender' policy against civilians
• US condemns Assad regime tactics in rebel-held cities
• Geneva eace talks fail to reach any discernible agreement
• Geneva eace talks fail to reach any discernible agreement
The United States accused Syria of enacting a “starve or surrender” policy toward civilians in rebel-held areas on Friday, after peace negotiations between the regime and opposition groups failed to achieve any discernible progress.
There had been hope that the first round of talks, which ended on Friday, would yield an agreement to allow aid convoys to deliver food and medicine to hundreds of thousands in the suburbs of Damascus and Homs.
The United Nations mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, said that the fact the two sides had sat down together marked a “modest beginning”, but conceded there had been no significant advances. “We haven't made any progress to speak of,” he said.
In a communique released later, the US and 10 allies from the Middle East and Europe condemned president Bashar al-Assad’s government over his ongoing refusal to open the aid corridors.
“We express outrage at the maintaining, by the regime, of its 'starve or surrender' strategy which in particular deprives hundreds of thousands of people in the suburbs of Damascus, in the old city of Homs and elsewhere, from receiving food and medicine, and at the arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of civilians.”
“We certainly do believe that it is the regime primarily that has blocked access,” a senior US official said. “People are literally dying in malnutrition in places like Yarmouk [a Palestinian refugee camp on the edge of Damascus] and Homs.”
The so-called London 11 communique, signed, among others, by the UK, France and Saudi Arabia, also called on the international community “to use all its influence” to secure full humanitarian access throughout Syria.
Some regional powers and aid groups are pushing for a new UN security council resolution to put pressure on Assad to allow the aid to get through. Last September's resolution, which dealt primarily with the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, also mandated the regime to allow humanitarian access to all areas affected by the violence.
However its enforcement provisions were vague, and there is growing momentum for a renewed diplomatic push to save lives in Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes Assad, calculated that almost 1,900 people died in Syria during the week-long negotiations.
Washington has so far held back from pushing for a new UN resolution, conscious that limited progress is being made through its alliance with Russia. Moscow backs the Syrian government, has been instrumental to the progress so far and would probably block any new enforcement action against Syria brought through the security council.
Valerie Amos, the UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, will host a meeting in Rome on Monday to assess whether Syria is meeting its obligations to allow aid agencies access to people in need.
A senior US official said after the talks concluded that a new resolution was “not off the table”.
“Let us see what comes out of the Monday meeting,” said the official, who has been close to the so-called Geneva II talks. “Whether or not going to the security council is the best way forward – I don’t want to prejudge that.”
On Thursday, the US raised concern over the Syrian government’s delays in removing chemical weapon materials due to be destroyed under the international disarmament deal being implemented in tandem with the talks.
Secretary of state John Kerry will press the issue in meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, during meetings in Germany over the weekend.
Speaking in Berlin on Friday, Kerry told reporters: “Bashar al-Assad is not, in our judgement, fully in compliance because of the timing and the delays.” He added there was “no legitimate reason” for the delayed transfer of the materials, stressing all options remained open of the regime failed to comply with its obligations.
The process for chemical weapons destruction is not understood to have featured prominently during the Geneva peace talks.
The senior US official said that while there was no major progress in the negotiations, the fact the first round of talks had taken place was itself an achievement.
Negotiations are now scheduled to resume in Geneva on 10 February. The Syrian opposition has agreed to attend, but Walid al-Muallem, Syria's combative foreign minister and chief negotiator, said he was awaiting instructions from Damascus.
“This will be a long, hard negotiation,” the senior US official said. “It is a very bitter, very nasty conflict on the ground with 130,000 dead … I would not want to leave anyone the sense that we’re optimistic there will be a breakthrough in the next round, or the round thereafter.”
There had been hope that the first round of talks, which ended on Friday, would yield an agreement to allow aid convoys to deliver food and medicine to hundreds of thousands in the suburbs of Damascus and Homs.
The United Nations mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, said that the fact the two sides had sat down together marked a “modest beginning”, but conceded there had been no significant advances. “We haven't made any progress to speak of,” he said.
In a communique released later, the US and 10 allies from the Middle East and Europe condemned president Bashar al-Assad’s government over his ongoing refusal to open the aid corridors.
“We express outrage at the maintaining, by the regime, of its 'starve or surrender' strategy which in particular deprives hundreds of thousands of people in the suburbs of Damascus, in the old city of Homs and elsewhere, from receiving food and medicine, and at the arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of civilians.”
“We certainly do believe that it is the regime primarily that has blocked access,” a senior US official said. “People are literally dying in malnutrition in places like Yarmouk [a Palestinian refugee camp on the edge of Damascus] and Homs.”
The so-called London 11 communique, signed, among others, by the UK, France and Saudi Arabia, also called on the international community “to use all its influence” to secure full humanitarian access throughout Syria.
Some regional powers and aid groups are pushing for a new UN security council resolution to put pressure on Assad to allow the aid to get through. Last September's resolution, which dealt primarily with the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, also mandated the regime to allow humanitarian access to all areas affected by the violence.
However its enforcement provisions were vague, and there is growing momentum for a renewed diplomatic push to save lives in Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes Assad, calculated that almost 1,900 people died in Syria during the week-long negotiations.
Washington has so far held back from pushing for a new UN resolution, conscious that limited progress is being made through its alliance with Russia. Moscow backs the Syrian government, has been instrumental to the progress so far and would probably block any new enforcement action against Syria brought through the security council.
Valerie Amos, the UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, will host a meeting in Rome on Monday to assess whether Syria is meeting its obligations to allow aid agencies access to people in need.
A senior US official said after the talks concluded that a new resolution was “not off the table”.
“Let us see what comes out of the Monday meeting,” said the official, who has been close to the so-called Geneva II talks. “Whether or not going to the security council is the best way forward – I don’t want to prejudge that.”
On Thursday, the US raised concern over the Syrian government’s delays in removing chemical weapon materials due to be destroyed under the international disarmament deal being implemented in tandem with the talks.
Secretary of state John Kerry will press the issue in meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, during meetings in Germany over the weekend.
Speaking in Berlin on Friday, Kerry told reporters: “Bashar al-Assad is not, in our judgement, fully in compliance because of the timing and the delays.” He added there was “no legitimate reason” for the delayed transfer of the materials, stressing all options remained open of the regime failed to comply with its obligations.
The process for chemical weapons destruction is not understood to have featured prominently during the Geneva peace talks.
The senior US official said that while there was no major progress in the negotiations, the fact the first round of talks had taken place was itself an achievement.
Negotiations are now scheduled to resume in Geneva on 10 February. The Syrian opposition has agreed to attend, but Walid al-Muallem, Syria's combative foreign minister and chief negotiator, said he was awaiting instructions from Damascus.
“This will be a long, hard negotiation,” the senior US official said. “It is a very bitter, very nasty conflict on the ground with 130,000 dead … I would not want to leave anyone the sense that we’re optimistic there will be a breakthrough in the next round, or the round thereafter.”
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