Syria rebels exchange women, children for commander: group
Islamists kidnap 300 Kurds
BEIRUT, April 6, (Agencies): Islamist fighters in northern Syria released two dozen women and children late on Sunday in exchange for a rebel commander held by pro-regime forces, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the 10 children and 15 women from Shiite towns in Aleppo province had been held by Islamist faction Jaish al-Mujahideen.
In a deal mediated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units ( YPG), the women and children were released in exchange for Yousef Zawaa, a Jaish al-Mujahideen commander who was held by armed groups loyal to Syria’s embattled regime.
The Britain-based Observatory said the women and children were from Zahraa and Nubol, two Shiite towns that have been under rebel siege for more than 18 months.
“They were kidnapped more than a year when crossing checkpoints on their way from Nubol and Zahraa towards Damascus and Aleppo,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Zawaa was captured when he strayed into the pro-government enclave by mistake, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Elsewhere in the country, the Observatory said government air strikes had killed at least 17 people, including five children, in Idlib province in the northwest.
Five of the deaths were in Idlib city, which was captured from government forces on March 28 by a coalition of Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.
Meanwhile, Islamist fighters on Monday kidnapped some 300 Kurdish civilians at a checkpoint in northwestern Syria, Kurdish officials and a local journalist told AFP.
It was not immediately clear which group was responsible for the kidnapping, though Kurdish officials accused Al-Qaeda’s affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which is active in Idlib province.
“A group of 300 people on five coaches and a mini-bus coming from Afrin were kidnapped at a checkpoint as they went to Aleppo to collect their salaries,” said Newaf Khalil, a spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).
The kidnapping was confirmed by a second official from the PYD, the main Kurdish party in Syria, and a journalist in Afrin, who said the women in the group had been freed but the men and children taken.
“There were 300 people on five buses, and they were kidnapped in Dana, which is under the control of Islamist factions and Al-Nusra Front,” said journalist Ali Abdul Rahman.
The PYD officials accused Al-Nusra of being behind the kidnapping, but Abdul Rahman and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said it remained unclear which group was responsible.
The Observatory reported similar details on the kidnapping, but said it was not immediately clear how many people were being held.
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MOSCOW: Russia hosted talks involving the Syrian government and some opposition figures on Monday, but the main opposition group stayed away and little progress was expected towards ending the Middle East country’s conflict.
Delegates said they expected the fourday meeting to focus on humanitarian issues, and the aim was largely to build confidence after four years of conflict that have killed more than 220,000 people in Syria.
The Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, based in Istanbul, boycotted the meeting, saying it would take part only if the talks led to the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia.