The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Syria crisis

  • U.S ‘will press’ Russia to ditch Assad

    United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is holding talks in Russia with Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as America urges Moscow to stop supporting Syria.

    The visit comes amid tensions over last week’s suspected chemical attack in Syria and U.S strikes on a Syrian base, the BBC reports.

    Russia has condemned the American strikes and stands by Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, its long-time ally.

    President Donald Trump has said the U.S has no further plans there and is “not going into” that country’s civil war.

    On Tuesday his defence secretary made clear the priority remained the defeat of the Islamic State jihadist group.

    “Our military policy in Syria has not changed,” Jim Mattis said.

    Last week’s air strike has led to confusion over U.S policy in Syria, with some officials suggesting a more aggressive stance against President Assad.

    Mr. Tillerson is meeting Mr. Lavrov after warning that Russia risks becoming irrelevant in the Middle East because of its support for Mr. Assad.

    He also insisted Syria’s president can play no part in the country’s future.

  • Over five million Syrians without water for days

    Over five million Syrians without water for days

    The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) in Syria has said the bombing of the Ain el Fijah water facility in Wadi Barada on December 24 has left over 5 million people without fresh, running water for the past 30 days.

    UOSSM in a statement lamented the growing concerns over a health epidemic with a sharp rise in severe gastrointestinal cases, according to a doctor from Ibn Nafis Hospital in Damascus. The price for a box of six water bottles has skyrocketed to 1000 Syrian Pounds.

    The NGO decried the rate at which a fierce bombardment continue to affect the villages of Wadi Barada.

    According to a representative from the Wadi Barada Media Council, on Friday one medical staff was killed, the executive director of the medical council was wounded, and an ambulance was targeted and destroyed by artillery shelling as it was transporting the wounded through an area supposedly under a ceasefire agreement.  The continued targeting of Wadi Barada with heavy artillery and barrel bombings has led to more damage to the Ain el Fijah water facility.
    Syria water
    A doctor from Damascus said: “We are very concerned that over 5 million people in Damascus have not had access to clean water for a month. The situation could lead to a catastrophe as the risk of hepatitis A, cholera and parasitic diseases rise due to a large population using contaminated water. Water is life and people need to have this basic human necessity to survive. We are concerned that we are not able to access people in besieged areas. We have a medical staff member who walks for 8 ½ miles to communicate the situation in Wadi Barada with us.  This is absolutely unacceptable.”

    While the people of Aleppo have been evacuated from the besieged area, many people throughout Syria are suffering greatly, with no access to food, water or medical care. A lack of communication and information from these areas has made it extremely difficult to perform needs assessments, assess medical facility capacity, and receive accurate numbers of civilians injured and killed from daily attacks. The lives of hundreds of thousands in besieged areas are still in danger.

    In Deir Ezzor thousands of civilians are trapped in the crossfire. The shortage of doctors in the area has left many without any access to medical care.

    Dr. Khaula Sawah, CEO of UOSSM USA said, “Hundreds of thousands of lives are still in danger and we must not forget them. Wadi Barada is the new Aleppo,  with a brutal besiegement and a brutal bombardment of the area. Many are being wounded in these attacks and we have no way of getting to them. They are living without the basic necessities of life including water, food and access to medical care. This is a denial of basic human rights and is unacceptable. We call on the international community to ensure water facilities in Wadi Barada are repaired immediately, and humanitarian aid is delivered to civilians in Wadi Barada, Deir Ezzor, and in other besieged areas throughout Syria.”

    UOSSM is hopeful that the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan today will usher in the long term peace the people of Syria so greatly deserve. UOSSM urges the international community and the UN to send international observers and ‘Blue Helmets’ to conflict areas in Syria to ensure civilians are protected.

  • Airstrike kills 4 aid workers of Europe based NGO in Syria

    Airstrike kills 4 aid workers of Europe based NGO in Syria

    Four staff members of the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) were recently killed, and one nurse is in critical condition after an air strike hit a medical facility.

    The airstrike hit Khan Touman medical triage point in Aleppo and complete destroyed the facility and two ambulances. In total, 14 victims died along with many more injured.

    syriaThe medical triage point provides triage and emergency medical services to approximately 750 wound patients a month. Ahmad Dbais, UOSSM Director of Hospitals and Trauma in the Northern Region said: “The building was three stories, two of which were above ground and one story was underground. Due to the intensity of the bombing all three levels collapsed and are now buried underground.”

    Two nurses and two ambulance drivers were killed. The fifth victim, a nurse, has suffered severe burns and is in critical condition. The patient has been transferred to Turkey to receive medical care.

    This attack comes one day after the UN/ Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) convoy was hit by air strikes leading to the death of the Director of the SARC and many other aid workers. It has been a deadly year for health care workers with 115 were killed in 2016 alone, and over 700 medical personnel have been killed since the beginning of the crisis in Syria.

    “REAL ACTIONS must be taken to protect aid workers and hold those responsible accountable. Many aid workers can’t work because they are being deliberately targeted. The fact that the international community sees this and continually fails to act is beyond comprehension.” Said Avi D’Souza, Global Director of Communications, UOSSM Intl.

  • UN suspends aid convoys in Syria

    The United Nations has suspended all aid convoys in Syria after a devastating air attack on its lorries near Aleppo on Monday.

    The strikes destroyed 18 of the 31 lorries, which were bringing wheat, clothes and medical kit to the area around Urum al-Kubra, the BBC reports.

    A senior local official of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was among about 20 civilians killed, aid officials said.

    Russia and Syria have both insisted that their forces were not involved in the incident.

    Russian defence ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that after studying video taken at the scene they “did not find any signs of munitions hitting the convoy.”

    “Everything shown in the video is the direct result of a fire which mysteriously began at the same time as a large scale rebel attack on Aleppo,” he said.

    The Syrian military, quoted by state media, said there was “no truth” to reports that the army had targeted the convoy.

    A media activist who witnessed the attack told the BBC that Russian reconnaissance planes had been spotted, apparently filming the passage of the convoy.

  • U.S, Russia reach Syria deal

    Russia and the United States have agreed to coordinate air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria, part of a detailed agreement to reduce the violence there.

    The plan will begin with a “cessation of hostilities” from sunset on Monday, the BBC reports.

    Syrian forces will end combat missions in specified opposition-held areas.

    Russia and the U.S will then establish a joint centre to combat jihadist groups, including so-called Islamic State (IS).

    A Syrian opposition coalition has cautiously welcomed the agreement.

    “We hope this will be the beginning of the end of the civilians’ ordeal,” said Bassma Kodmani, a spokeswoman for the High Negotiations Committee.

    “We welcome the deal if it is going to be enforced.”

    Turkey welcomed the plan, and said aid needed to reach those in need “from the first day.”

    The European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, urged the United Nations to “prepare a proposal for political transition” in Syria.

    British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, urged Russia to “use all its influence” to ensure the Syrian government “delivers on its obligations.”

     

  • Syria opposition unveils transition plan

    The umbrella group representing Syria’s political and armed opposition factions has set out a plan for a political transition to end five years civil war in the country.

    The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) proposed a six- month negotiations with President Bashar al-Assad, accompanied by a full ceasefire, the BBC reports.

    Mr. Assad would then hand over power to a unity government that would run Syria for 18 months and organise elections.

    Saudi Arabia, which backs the HNC, said the plan would test Mr. Assad’s allies.

    But the Gulf kingdom’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, told the BBC that he was not optimistic that Russia and Iran were prepared to put the “necessary pressure” on the president “in order to comply with the will of the international community.”

    Mr. Assad has consistently refused to step down since the beginning of the war, which has left more than 250,000 people dead.

  • U.S to send 250 more troops to Syria

    United States President, Barack Obama, is to send 250 additional military personnel to Syria to support local militias in the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS), officials have said.

    The goal, they say, is to encourage more Sunni Arabs to join Kurdish fighters in north-eastern Syria.

    The new deployment will bring to 300 the number of U.S forces in non-combat roles in Syria.

    In a chat with BBC, Mr. Obama ruled out sending ground troops there.

    He said military efforts alone cannot solve Syria’s “heart-breaking situation of enormous complexity.”

    Most of the additional personnel will be special operation forces, the Associated Press news agency reports. The group will also include medical and logistical troops.

    A formal announcement is expected from President Obama during his visit to Hannover on Monday, where he will discuss Syria and other foreign policy issues with leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy.

    On Sunday, Mr. Obama said he was “deeply concerned” about a surge in violence in Syria, with the opposition accusing the government of violating a truce brokered by the U.S and Russia.