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A CEASEFIRE IN Syria brokered by Russia and the United States is due to begin at sundown today, after scores of civilians were killed in a bloody weekend of strikes.
The truce, announced after marathon talks by the Russian and US foreign ministers, has been billed as the best chance yet to end Syria’s five-year civil war estimated to have killed more than 290,000 people and displaced over half the country’s population.
As the clock ticks towards sunset when the ceasefire is expected to start, rebels battling the Syrian regime and the political opposition are still weighing whether to abide by the agreement.
Only one rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham, has given its official reaction — a rejection of the ceasefire deal, which the influential hardline Islamists said would only serve to strengthen the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
However, even as world powers threw their support behind the deal, weekend strikes on the key opposition cities of Aleppo and Idlib killed at least 74 people.
Regime air raids on rebel-held parts of Aleppo killed six civilians and wounded 30 yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“We hope there will be a ceasefire so that civilians can get a break. The shelling goes on night and day, there are targeted killings, besieged cities,” Abu Abdullah, who lives in Aleppo’s rebel-held east, said.
Civilians have no hope anymore.
Unidentified warplanes bombarded both cities on Saturday, killing 62 in Idlib alone.
The strikes in Idlib hit several areas including a market full of shoppers preparing for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins today.
Assad and allies welcome truce
State news agency SANA has reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government “approved the agreement” for a truce on Saturday.
Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, which has intervened militarily on behalf of Assad, also announced its support.
Assad made a rare public appearance today at prayers for Eid al-Adha in the town of Daraya, recently surrendered by rebels.
State media showed the embattled leader attending the prayers at the Saad Bin Moaz mosque in the town outside Damascus, which was previously a rebel stronghold.
After years of government siege and fighting, its remaining residents and rebel fighters evacuated the town in late August under a deal with the regime, which has since retaken control.
Assad was joined at the prayers by a number of members of his ruling Baath party, as well as several ministers and members of parliament.
The mufti, or Muslim cleric, presiding over the prayers, hailed Daraya as an example for Syria, which has been ravaged by conflict since 2011.
“Daraya is living proof for all Syrians that the only option available to you is reconciliation and abandoning fighting,” Adnan al-Afiyuni, mufti for Damascus province, said.
Rebel fighters said they had been forced to agree the deal with the government after the siege created a humanitarian crisis for Daraya’s remaining residents.
However, the government has touted the deal, and other similar agreements, as the best way to achieve local ceasefires and end the violence.
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Absolutely shocking article. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights being used again as a definitive source. Outrageous.
It is the ‘rebels’ who have the track record of killing mass civilians in horrific attacks from car bombs to suicide bombers. Yet, little of the terrorist attacks on civilians by the rebels getting reported in Western media. This type of an attack is more than likely from the ‘rebels’. The rebels who said they will target any Russians or Iranians in Syria,a war crime. They have also said they will attack any civilian aircraft or airports, another war crime.
I thought the rebels were meant to have taken control of Syria at this stage. Well according to the Western corporate agenda media anyway, who have been talking about final pushes or final battle for Damascus for over a year now. The same media that describes rebel attacks as victories when they are nothing more than defeat after defeat.
It would be nice to have an article re Syria that is truly an independent one without an imperialist agenda.
Imperialist agenda? Can you elaborate a bit on that bit?
B Lowe, did you read the article which says that both sides are blaming each other and no one knows exactly who is to blame. You are critical of a “one man operation” reporting on this from Britain but you yourself are a “one man operation” typing away on your keyboard ad nauseum from who knows where?
@BLowe
“This type of attack is more than likely from the rebels”
Don’t you think you should reserve judgment until some evidence emerges??
You wrongly blamed the rebels for the Houla massacre when both sides were blaming each other, but went very quiet when the hard evidence came out that it was in fact the Assad regime which perpetrated this massacre of civilians (yes, a war crime, as you like to point out about various other acts).
I don’t know why your agenda is so dear to you, but you clearly have one if you refuse to keep an open mind about stories like this.
The Houla massacre was not carried out by the official Syrian security forces.
I am not blindingly pro the Syrian government on everything.
However, when all we hear on mainly Western news sources is one sided articles in favour of the mainly foreign Islamic jihadists and mercenaries masquerading as ‘rebels’ someone needs to offer a counterpoint.
The media is going gun ho against the Al Qaeda linked rebels in France describing their wish to impose Sharia law and how the Marian government has asked for assistance. The Syrian government is fighting mainly foreign Al Qaeda linked rebels who are imposing Sharia laws on the very few areas of control they have. The Malian government is a military dictatorship. Why is it not being referred to as so and why the double standards related Syria in the media.
Re Shuki.
The imperialist agenda. We, many believe, for example that the US opposes tyranny and seeks to bring democracy to countries. This is a testament to the power of propaganda. The most repressive country in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia yet is the closest ally in the region for the US. The US also directly supplies Saudi Arabia with arms, which Saudi Arabia uses to impose its tyranny.
So, you see many would say the US is an imperialist country as it pursues its own national interests at everyone else’s expense. The US does this currently by hijacking terms such as democracy and freedom and using them as a means to impose its will worldwide.
BLowe
The Houla massacre was carried out by pro-Assad militias with the full knowledge of Syrian state forces, who looked on as the massacre unfolded.
Yes, the fledgeling Mali government came about as the result of a coup (and hopefully democracy will follow) but the regime you continually defend is a forty year dictatorship!
You quite rightly point out the double standards of some sections of the western media, but your own double standards know no bounds!
Re: Houla
In the full knowledge of what had actually happened at Houla the regime then went on a sustained media campaign to blame the massacre on opposition forces.
This story was also run by Russia Today, and people like you fully bought into it without question.
Yet you accuse western media of propaganda?? As I have said before, propaganda is a feature of all sides in any war, but you seem completely incapable of understanding that the Syrian regime and their allies use propaganda extensively, and just because you heard something on RT doesn’t make it true!
Ah shure the students were probably “rebels” and the professors CIA or Mossad huh B. Wonder about the agenda of the Journal sometimes (why was this only reported on today like)
B Lowe
Your naive black and white view of the big bad world is still the same. Running out of steam and fresh anti Western advertising B, you are copying and pasting your old posts. You are consistent though, with your unbalanced one sided view, constantly showing a deep misunderstanding of the nature of a vicious civil conflict in Syria. Applying the same unworkable labels to the situation in Mali just does not cut ice. Your analysis of both conflicts is deeply flawed, and will remain so until you learn to assess your sources critically and look for balance.
Very poor explanation of Imperialism for Shuki, the age of empires is over my friend, the word is used now in an emotive way that has nothing to do with Imperialism. The analysis you have made of US foreign policy is very poor and naive and shows a complete lack of knowledge of International Relations.
B Lowe, I thought Israel was Americas closest ally in the middle east? Besides Saudi Arabia doesn’t need American military hardware to keep its people oppressed, you can do that with batons, dogs, water cannons, laws, the vice police, swords and it’s very own oppressive culture.
B Lowe, it’s you who has a black and white view of the world!
They interviewed a student on the news tonight and asked him who he thought was responsible for the attack. He replied “terrorists”, and the guy asked him “you don’t think the govt was involved in this?” and the student said “no absolutely not”.. in the same piece they talked to some fella from the govt who said they were convinced it was al-qaida. I’m not sticking up for the assad regime, just saying thats there is more to these “rebels” than we being told..
have your say