Diplomat says Syria winning terror fight

UNITED NATIONS — Syria’s top diplomat said Saturday at the United Nations that his country is more determined than ever to eliminate “terrorism” from the country.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said his country’s belief in military victory is greater now because the army “is making great strides in its war against terrorism” with support from Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters. The Syrian government uses the term “terrorism” to refer to all those fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad, including Western-backed opposition groups.

Al-Moallem accused the “moderate armed opposition” of committing crimes and massacres against Syrians “that are no less barbaric” than those of the Islamic State extremist group and al-Qaida. The Syrian government in turn has been accused by the U.S. and other Western nations of the indiscriminate killing of civilians, dropping bombs filled with chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, and torturing and killing opponents.

The Syrian official addressed the U.N. General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting after frantic but unsuccessful efforts by U.S. and Russian envoys to revive a cease-fire that went into effect Sept. 12 but collapsed in a week after attacks by both sides. The truce was aimed at enabling the delivery of humanitarian aid and paving the way for a resumption of talks between the government and the opposition.

Syria was stepping up its military campaign even as talks were taking place between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting on reviving the cease-fire.

Al-Moallem said the Syrian government remains committed to political negotiations in Geneva under U.N. auspices, but he stressed that any solution must follow two parallel tracks: intensified counterterrorism efforts and an intra-Syrian dialogue that allows Syrians to determine their future “without foreign interference.”

He said a political solution should begin “by establishing a government of national unity comprising representatives from the government and the opposition, in all its factions, and tasked with creating a constitution drafting committee.”

Once a new constitution is approved by Syrians through a referendum, he said, parliamentary elections should follow, leading to the formation of a new government.

That proposal is contrary to the road map for a Syrian political transition adopted by key nations in Geneva in June 2012 including the five permanent U.N. Security Council members — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — that has been the basis of subsequent Geneva talks.

It starts with the establishment of a transitional governing body, vested with full executive powers, and ends with elections, and it requires Assad to relinquish power at some unspecified point.

Al-Moallem made no mention of Assad stepping down as president and envisioned a military victory — something Russia, the U.S. and the U.N. say is impossible.

“Our belief in victory is even greater now that the Syrian Arab Army is making great strides in its war against terrorism, with the support of the true friends of the Syrian people, notably the Russian Federation, Iran and the Lebanese national resistance,” al-Moallem said. He was referring to Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia.

Al-Moallem accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of spreading “terrorism” in Syria by sending in “mercenaries equipped with the most sophisticated weapons.” He also accused Turkey of opening its border “to let in tens of thousands of terrorists from all over the world” and providing them with military and logistical support.

Syria’s uprising began in March 2011 with mostly peaceful protests against the Assad family’s four-decade rule, but escalated into a civil war after a government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency.

As of Saturday, rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo had come under a blistering wave of airstrikes that residents said was without precedent in the 5½-year conflict that has killed more than 300,000 people and driven half the country’s population from their homes. The airstrikes killed dozens, toppled buildings and sent wounded people flooding into poorly equipped clinics.

Aid was never delivered to Aleppo, and on Saturday government forces captured an area on the edge of the city, tightening their siege around the rebel-held east.

The U.N. said nearly 2 million people in the city were without running water after the escalation in fighting over the past few days.

Government forces captured the rebel-held Palestinian refugee camp of Handarat as airstrikes pounded eastern Aleppo, killing 52 people, including 11 children and six women, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Local Coordination Committees, another monitoring group, said 49 were killed on Saturday alone.

The Observatory said the death toll in Aleppo is expected to rise because many people were in critical condition and rescue workers were still digging through the rubble.

Residents said the latest bombardment was the worst they had seen since rebels captured parts of the city in 2012. Activists reported dozens of airstrikes on Friday.

“Since the beginning of the crisis, Aleppo has not been subjected to such a vicious campaign,” said Mohammed Abu Jaafar, a forensics expert based in the city. “Aleppo is being wiped out.”