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In Syria, Airstrikes Continue as Truce Nears U.N. Security Council Endorses Truce Deal for Syria
(about 7 hours later)
The United States, its allies and Russia continued to strike against Islamic militants in Syria on Friday, and President Vladimir V. Putin said Russia would continue hitting “terrorist organizations” there, hours before a provisional cease-fire was scheduled to take effect at midnight. UNITED NATIONS — Against the backdrop of relentless airstrikes on rebel-held positions inside Syria, the United Nations Security Council on Friday unanimously endorsed a deal negotiated between the United States and Russia for a “cessation of hostilities.”
The partial truce, negotiated by the United States and Russia, has been accepted by the Syrian government and main opposition groups, but it does not include extremist groups like the Islamic State or the Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. The United Nations mediator, Staffan de Mistura, said he hoped the pause could allow desperately needed food and medicines to get into towns under siege for months. And if the truce holds, he added, it could pave the way for political negotiations to resume on March 7.
“It is, potentially, a historic junction — to bring an end to the killing and destruction and to start a new life and new hope for the Syrians,” Mr. de Mistura said.
The truce does not apply to the Islamic State, or to Al Qaeda’s affiliate, known as the Nusra Front. A category vaguely described as “other” terrorist groups is also excluded. Russia has used this as a rationale for striking rebels that it contends are fighting alongside the Nusra Front.
Western powers caution that the deal not be used as what the French ambassador, François Delattre, called “a smoke screen allowing some to crush the Syrian civilians and the opposition.”
Earlier Friday, the United States, its allies and Russia continued to strike against Islamic militants in Syria, and President Vladimir V. Putin said Russia would continue hitting “terrorist organizations” there.
The Nusra Front said Friday that it rejected the cessation of hostilities and urged insurgents to intensify their attacks against government forces and their allies, Reuters reported.The Nusra Front said Friday that it rejected the cessation of hostilities and urged insurgents to intensify their attacks against government forces and their allies, Reuters reported.
Mr. Putin said again Friday that his military intended to go on conducting airstrikes against “terrorist organizations” in Syria. Mr. Putin said at a meeting of top officials of the Federal Security Service on Friday that “the decisive fight against them will certainly continue,” The Associated Press reported, citing the Russian news agency Tass.Mr. Putin said again Friday that his military intended to go on conducting airstrikes against “terrorist organizations” in Syria. Mr. Putin said at a meeting of top officials of the Federal Security Service on Friday that “the decisive fight against them will certainly continue,” The Associated Press reported, citing the Russian news agency Tass.
Russia and the Syrian government say that the Russian airstrikes that began in late September are directed solely at terrorists and at forces affiliated with terrorist groups. Some opposition groups inside Syria and international critics say that definition has been stretched to include other rebel groups, some of them backed by the United States, that have fought against the forces of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Moscow ally.Russia and the Syrian government say that the Russian airstrikes that began in late September are directed solely at terrorists and at forces affiliated with terrorist groups. Some opposition groups inside Syria and international critics say that definition has been stretched to include other rebel groups, some of them backed by the United States, that have fought against the forces of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Moscow ally.
Mr. Putin defended Russia’s efforts, saying that the United States should be aware that Islamic militants may be embedded with opposition groups, and “that nobody will forget that there are other terrorist organizations apart from Islamic State.”
The United States and its allies staged 30 strikes against militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, Reuters reported from Washington, citing a statement issued by the coalition on Friday.The United States and its allies staged 30 strikes against militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, Reuters reported from Washington, citing a statement issued by the coalition on Friday.
Fourteen of the strikes were in Syria, including eight near Al Hawl, where five tactical units were hit and seven vehicles were destroyed, along with a staging area and a mortar position, the statement said.Fourteen of the strikes were in Syria, including eight near Al Hawl, where five tactical units were hit and seven vehicles were destroyed, along with a staging area and a mortar position, the statement said.
Fighting raged Friday on several fronts in Syria as combatants sought to gain advantage before the cease-fire.Fighting raged Friday on several fronts in Syria as combatants sought to gain advantage before the cease-fire.
Dozens of barrel bombs and other munitions fell on the suburbs of Damascus, Syria’s capital. Rebels there said that the suburb of Daraya is a bastion of insurgents who are not affiliated with either the Nusra Front or the Islamic State, but the Syrian government said Daraya was not covered under any truce.Dozens of barrel bombs and other munitions fell on the suburbs of Damascus, Syria’s capital. Rebels there said that the suburb of Daraya is a bastion of insurgents who are not affiliated with either the Nusra Front or the Islamic State, but the Syrian government said Daraya was not covered under any truce.
Leaders of rebel groups who oppose the Assad government have said that if their forces are hit by the Russians and Syrians, even by an attack meant to target extremists, they will retaliate.Leaders of rebel groups who oppose the Assad government have said that if their forces are hit by the Russians and Syrians, even by an attack meant to target extremists, they will retaliate.
Some rebel leaders have said that American officials have warned them to separate themselves from positions held by fighters from the Nusra Front, or risk becoming targets. On Friday, before the cease-fire, there were reports of Nusra Front fighters moving away from civilian areas in parts of northern Syria, but those reports could not be independently confirmed.Some rebel leaders have said that American officials have warned them to separate themselves from positions held by fighters from the Nusra Front, or risk becoming targets. On Friday, before the cease-fire, there were reports of Nusra Front fighters moving away from civilian areas in parts of northern Syria, but those reports could not be independently confirmed.
The conditional plan to cease hostilities by midnight in Syria appeared farther off Friday than the clock indicated, and it was not clear who would stop shooting at whom or for how long. Mr. de Mistura on Friday offered the first hints of how the pause in fighting is to work — at least in theory.
In a statement on Friday, the High Negotiations Committee, an umbrella organization for opposition groups, said it would agree to a two-week truce. The committee’s statement also said that the government and its allies should not be allowed to exploit the truce “by continuing hostilities against moderate opposition factions under the excuse of fighting terrorism.” The Syrian government, plus Russia, have agreed to end aerial bombardments “against the armed opposition groups and parties to the cessation of hostilities,” he said.
The United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is scheduled to brief the Security Council later Friday when the cessation of hostilities is to begin. The Council is expected to adopt a resolution endorsing the truce and urging Mr. de Mistura to resume talks among the warring Syrian parties to find a political solution to the war. Those who have signed on to the deal — both government and rebel — have also agreed not to fire at each other or to advance into new territory, and to allow aid agencies to deliver food and medical supplies into all Syrian cities and towns, Mr. de Mistura added. The United Nations maintains that government forces and the Islamic State are responsible for besieging most of the 487,000 people besieged for months and unable to get basic relief.
The draft resolution also urges countries with interests in Syria, including the United States and Russia, “to use their influence with the parties to the cessation of hostilities to ensure fulfillment of those commitments and to support efforts to create conditions for a durable and lasting cease-fire.” His comments revealed the pitfalls too in how the truce will be monitored. A “task force” led by Russia and the United States is to delineate which parts of the country are held by the banned terrorist groups that are not part of the cessation of hostilities. It is to gather information on truce violations and “defuse tensions.”
It does not say anything about an end to airstrikes conducted by Russia that have helped Syrian forces reclaim strategic areas, including sections of land along the Syrian border with Turkey. Already there seemed to be tensions about how the truce would work.
The main Syrian opposition bloc, which calls itself the High Negotiation Committee, has agreed only to a two-week pause in fighting and wants Russian bombardments to stop.
The Russian deputy foreign minister, Gennady Gatilov, said flatly on Friday that the combat against the Islamic State, Nusra Front and what he called “other terrorist groups” would continue, and went on to criticize Turkey for what he called “illegal flows” of fighters and weapons into Syria. It was a measure of how tensions between Russia and Turkey have increased up in recent months, posing a new challenge for any effort to end the war in Syria.
Turkey is in its own fight with Syrian Kurdish groups in the border region, including the Y.P.G., which is supported by the United States. A spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said on Friday that the government had doubts about the truce’s viability.Turkey is in its own fight with Syrian Kurdish groups in the border region, including the Y.P.G., which is supported by the United States. A spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said on Friday that the government had doubts about the truce’s viability.
“We support this cease-fire in principle, but unfortunately we have serious concerns about the future of this cease-fire as the fighting goes on,” said the spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin.“We support this cease-fire in principle, but unfortunately we have serious concerns about the future of this cease-fire as the fighting goes on,” said the spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin.
Turkey has said it will not stop fighting the Syrian Kurdish militias, and the Kurds have said they have a right to defend themselves.Turkey has said it will not stop fighting the Syrian Kurdish militias, and the Kurds have said they have a right to defend themselves.
The truce agreement is intended to stop the fighting in most areas long enough for aid to reach besieged civilians, and for the United Nations-mediated political talks to resume.The truce agreement is intended to stop the fighting in most areas long enough for aid to reach besieged civilians, and for the United Nations-mediated political talks to resume.