Ceasefire takes effect in Syria
> Peace deal brokered by US, Russia aims for broader truce
BEIRUT: A ceasefire deal for southwestern Syria brokered by the US and Russia took effect at noon (5pm in Malaysia) yesterday, the latest international attempt at peacemaking in the six-year war.
The US, Russia and Jordan reached a ceasefire and “de-escalation agreement” this week with the aim of paving the way for a broader, more robust truce.
The announcement came after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit of major economies in Germany.
Several ceasefires have crumbled since the onset of the conflict and it was not clear how much the combatants – Syrian government forces and the main rebels in the southwest – were committed to this latest effort.
With the help of Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government has put rebels on the back foot over the last year.
The wide array of mostly Sunni rebels include jihadist factions and other groups supported by Turkey, the US and Gulf monarchies.
Earlier talks between the US and Russia about a “de-escalation zone” in southwest Syria covered Deraa province on the border with Jordan and Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
A senior State Department official involved in the talks said further discussions would be necessary to decide crucial aspects of the agreement, including who will monitor its enforcement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the deal includes “securing humanitarian access and setting up contacts between the opposition in the region and a monitoring centre that is being established in Jordan’s capital.”
The multi-sided conflict, which grew out of popular protests against Assad’s rule in 2011, has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and created the world’s worst refugee crisis.
Meanwhile in Mosul, Iraq, Islamic State (IS) militants threw themselves into the River Tigris yesterday, trying to flee the battlefield in Mosul as they faced imminent defeat by Iraqi forces fighting to dislodge them from their last pocket in the city.
A US-trained elite Iraqi force in the Old City of Mosul reached the Tigris riverside, state TV said, indicating that the insurgents’ last redoubt is on the verge of falling.
After eight months of combat that has ruined parts of the city, killed thousands and displaced nearly one million, Iraqi officials say victory is close. – Reuters