Syria crisis Archives

Vienna: Mogherini dubs Syria crisis talks as ‘historic, substantial’

October 30, 2015 By administrator

Following the conclusion of the international talks on the Syrian crisis, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini describes the negotiations held in Vienna as “historic” and “very substantial.”

“We tackled major issues that were on the table… but we found common grounds to continue talks,” Mogherini told reporters at the end of the Vienna meeting on Friday.

She emphasized that the meeting was not an easy one “but for sure a historic one as we had, for the first time, all the actors around the table, and I would say a very constructive atmosphere.”

She said she believed that participants at the international meeting have “some common grounds” on which they can build in the future.

“So there’s hope for a political process to start under the UN auspices and with all of us coming together again,” Mogherini pointed out.

The international meeting on the Syrian crisis kicked off in the Austrian capital on Friday. Foreign ministers of Iran, the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Egypt, Russia, Jordan, Britain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Lebanon, China and Oman attended the talks.

Envoys from the United Nations and the European Union were also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday that the participants had agreed to hold another meeting in two weeks’ time to find a political solution to the four-year crisis in Syria.

Speaking to reporters following the talks in Vienna, Fabius said the participants discussed all issues, “even the most difficult” ones.

“There are points of disagreement, but we advanced enough for us to meet again, in the same configuration, in two weeks,” the French minister added.

Russia’s hope for further compromises

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, expressed hope that further compromises would end the war in Syria.

Speaking after the Vienna meeting, Lavrov said the multilateral talks on the Syrian crisis had failed to reach a consensus on the fate of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

He emphasized that only “the Syrian people should decide Assad’s fate.”

‘Differences remain’

Meanwhile, participants in the Vienna meeting called for a nationwide truce in Syria.

In a joint statement at the end of the Vienna talks on Friday, Iran, the United States, Russia and 14 other countries said “substantial differences remain” but it was “imperative to accelerate all diplomatic efforts to end the war”.

According to the statement, the participants called on the United Nations to bring together representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to launch “a political process leading to credible, inclusive, non-sectarian governance, followed by a new constitution and elections.”

Syria crisis: Mortars ‘kill 20’ at pro-Assad rally in Deraa

May 23, 2014 By administrator

Mortar fire has hit an election rally in support of President Bashar al-Assad in southern Syria, killing at least 20 people, the BBC reported, citing state media and activists.

The attack happened as Assad supporters gathered in a tent in the city of Deraa on Thursday evening. President Assad was not at the event.

At least 30 people have been injured, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.

Syrians are due to vote on 3 June in an election branded a sham by the West.

The president is facing two other challengers, but he is widely expected to secure a third seven-year term in office – despite a brutal civil war now in its fourth year.

Thursday’s attack happened in the al-Matar district of Deraa, said the Observatory, which relies on reports from a network of activists on the ground.

It said the strike was carried out by an Islamist rebel brigade, and killed 11 civilians – including one child – and pro-government militiamen.

The attack “is a clear message from rebels to the regime that there is not one safe area in which to hold the election”, the Observatory’s director Rami Abdel Rahman told the AFP news agency.

Syria crisis: Deadly clash in Jordan’s Zaatari camp

April 6, 2014 By administrator

BBC At least one person has been reported killed and dozens hurt in a riot at Jordan’s Zaatari camp, home to some 106,000 refugees from Syria’s war.

Jordanian forces used tear gas against stone-throwing refugees who had set fire to tents and vehicles.

Both sides blame each other for provoking the violence. The dead person was a Syrian refugee, officials say.

The sprawling camp has seen several protests since opening two years ago, mainly over poor living conditions.

Zaatari is located in the Jordanian desert, about 12km (7.5 miles) from the Syrian border.

It is the world’s second-largest refugee camp – behind Dadaab in eastern Kenya – and has become the fourth largest city in Jordan.

Harsh conditions

Jordanian authorities said the violence broke out after police arrested a group of refugees who were trying to leave the camp illegally.

“The rioters burned six tents and two caravans and tried to attack police stations,” the Public Security Directorate said in a statement.

Some 106,000 Syrians now call Zaatari home

Residents of Zaatari, however, claimed the clashes occurred because a Jordanian policeman had run over a Syrian child.

Eyewitnesses also said the number of refugees injured in the unrest was much higher than the three cases confirmed by officials.

“We are always treated unfairly, we’ve escaped from an injustice [in Syria] to another injustice,” said a refugee interviewed by the Associated Press news agency.

Brig Gen Waddah Hmoud, the director of the Syrian Refugees Camp Affairs Department, said 29 police and gendarmerie officers had been taken to hospital with injuries.

“Unfortunately two of the Syrian refugees were injured by gunshot, one of them passed away this morning,” he told the AP news agency.

Opened in July 2012 with some 100 refugee families, Zaatari is now made up of roughly 30,000 shelters and administration buildings.

It costs about $500,000 (£320,000) a day to run, with half a million pieces of bread and 4.2m litres of water distributed daily.

Correspondents say life inside the camp can be harsh, as residents – mostly hailing from the Daraa governorate of Syria, face a number of challenges – the biggest being security.

An overflow camp – Azraq – is under construction in the desert to meet demand. It will have the capacity to host up to 130,000 people.

More than 2.5 million people have fled Syria since the civil war broke out there in March 2011.

Earlier this week, the UN confirmed that the number of Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon had surpassed one million, making it the highest per capita concentration of refugees worldwide.

This is followed by Jordan, which houses almost 600,000 refugees. Other main host countries include Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.