Syria rebels return to talks with Russia after waves of airstrikes

DARAA, Syria: Rebels in Syria’s battered south were returning to talks with government ally Russia on Thursday (Friday in Manila) after the most intensive bombing campaign yet in the regime’s twoweek offensive.

Moscow has been brokering talks for the negotiated surrender of beleaguered rebels in southern Syria, a highly strategic zone bordering both Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan.

More than 30 towns have already agreed to fall back to regime control, and negotiations this week focused on remaining rebel territory in Daraa’s western countryside and the southern half of the provincial capital.

But those talks fell apart on Wednesday because of Russia’s tough demands, rebels said, ushering in a ferocious blitz of air strikes, barrel bombs, and missiles.

An AFP correspondent on the edge of the rebel-held south of the city of Daraa, the divided provincial capital, said the bombing was the heaviest since the launch of the Russian-backed offensive on June 19.

About 24 hours into the onslaught, rebels announced they were willing to return to negotiations.

He had earlier accused Russia of pursuing a “scorched earth policy” to force rebels to return to the negotiating table.

The joint command also issued a statement saying it would be willing to hold “a new round of negotiations” if a halt to hostilities was immediately put into place.

As rebels made their announcement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported a halt to both Russian and Syrian government air strikes over the south.

The day-long volley began on Wednesday evening, after rebels announced the failure of talks with Russian negotiators over the south’s fate.