Syria spurns Aleppo truce terms
‘Major disagreement’ exists over proposal for eastern part of city, UN envoy says
BEIRUT— The Syrian government refused the UN envoy’s latest proposal for a truce in Aleppo on Sunday, calling on insurgents to withdraw and saying it would not grant autonomy to the rebel-held east in exchange for calm.
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said restoring government rule was a matter of “national sovereignty,” and that Damascus would not allow the people of eastern Aleppo to be “hostages to 6,000 gunmen.”
“We agreed on the need that terrorists should get out of east Aleppo to end the suffering of the civilians in the city,” he said.
He spoke after meeting with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who acknowledged a “major disagreement” with al-Moallem and said a “creative” if interim solution was required to halt the violence.
“We are only proposing that there should not be a radical dramatic change in the administration of Aleppo until there is a political solution,” he said.
The envoy warned in a recent interview with the U.K. newspaper the Guardian that the government is chasing a “pyrrhic victory” in Aleppo if it does not reach a political settlement with the opposition.
He warned the military’s approach would drive more moderate rebels into the ranks of Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
At least 172 civilians have been killed since the government renewed its assault on the besieged enclave six days ago, according to the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Hu- man Rights.
The UN estimates 275,000 people are trapped inside. By Saturday, the government had damaged or destroyed every hospital in the east, according to the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports hospitals in Syria.
The government denies striking hospitals, and de Mistura said there was a “difference of opinion” about the attacks.
He said he had proposed sending an observer team to inspect all the hospitals in Aleppo, but that the idea was not discussed further.
De Mistura has proposed that the Syrian government grant eastern Aleppo autonomy in exchange for peace, and called on the estimated 900 Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the east to depart to other rebel-held territory.
Al-Moallem also called on the militants to withdraw, and said he hoped U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration would cut off support for “terrorists” in Syria and “rein in” the states backing them, a reference to Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Syrian President Bashar Assad said earlier this week that Trump could prove to be a “natural ally” to Damascus.
UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon condemned the intense air assault on eastern Aleppo over the last several days as well as the corresponding shelling of western parts of the city, in a statement released by his spokesperson Sunday. He called on all the parties to ensure freedom of movement for civilians and allow unhindered access to humanitarian assistance.
Ban reminded “all parties to the conflict that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime,” the statement said.