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Shelling near reporters in Syria shows limits of truce Shelling near reporters in Syria shows limits of truce
(about 4 hours later)
KINSIBBA, Syria — A series of artillery shells exploded near the main street of a Syrian village close to the border with Turkey on Tuesday, sending a group of visiting international reporters running for cover and underscoring the limits of Syria’s partial cease-fire. KINSIBBA, Syria — Artillery shells struck near the main street of a Syrian village controlled by the government on Tuesday, sending international reporters diving for cover and highlighting the fragility of a partial cease-fire that both sides in the civil war say has been repeatedly violated.
The shelling came as Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with German television that rebels who lay down their arms can expect a “full amnesty.” Assad was asked in the interview with ARD television airing Tuesday what a moderate rebel could do to be accepted by him as a Syrian civilian again. The blasts that shook Kinsibba, near the Turkish border, came as the journalists were touring the village under Russian military escort. No one was wounded by the artillery, but some suffered minor cuts as they ran for cover or threw themselves to the ground.
According to excerpts released by the channel, he replied: “Just to give up your armament, whether you want to join the political process or (are) not interested about the political process.” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, who was on the trip, said the shells came from positions held by the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front, which along with the Islamic State group is excluded from the cease-fire that began Saturday.
He added that the most important thing for him is that citizens can’t hold machine guns and hurt people — “This is the only thing that we ask. We don’t ask for anything. As I said, we give them full amnesty.” The U.S. and Russian-brokered “cessation of hostilities” has brought the first wide-scale reduction in violence seen in Syria’s five-year civil war, but has been rattled by alleged violations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that any faction that repeatedly violates the cease-fire can be attacked.
Assad has made similar gestures in the past, but opposition and rebel groups have rejected such offers saying he has no role to play in the future of Syria. The cease-fire is intended to pave the way for the resumption of peace talks to end the conflict, which has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half the country’s population.
The journalists were visiting the government-controlled village of Kinsibba, in the coastal province of Latakia, on a trip organized by Russia’s defense and foreign ministries. The office of the U.N. envoy for Syria said he has pushed back the planned resumption of talks between the government and the opposition to March 9 for “logistical and practical” reasons. Staffan de Mistura had earlier said the talks -- which last broke down in early February after just a few days -- would resume March 7.
Russian defense ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, who was on the trip, said the projectiles came from positions held by the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, which is excluded from the Russian and U.S.-brokered cease-fire, along with Islamic State group. Syrian President Bashar Assad meanwhile told Germany’s ARD television that moderate rebels who lay down their arms can expect “full amnesty.” But it was unclear whether any rebels would take him up on such an offer after years of civil war, mass detentions and widespread allegations of severe human rights violations by his government.
The journalists were traveling in armored trucks provided by the Russian military, and were escorted by Russian special forces. Assad also said convoys from Turkey have been supplying weapons to the insurgents. Turkey is one of the leading backers of those fighting to end the Assad family’s four-decade rule. The Syrian government has received crucial support from both Russia and Iran.
Reporters were walking across the village, which was seized in a recent government offensive, and talking to locals when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred meters away. Russian officers yelled at journalists to lie down, and they ducked as more shells fell and landed closer to the group. A Russian armored personnel carrier rushed forward to screen the reporters from direct hits. In Kinsibba, which was seized in a recent government offensive, the reporters were talking to local residents when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred meters (yards) away. Russian officers yelled at the journalists to lie down, and they ducked as the shelling drew closer with a series of loud thuds. A Russian armored personnel carrier rushed forward to screen the reporters from direct hits.
A couple of journalists suffered minor scratches as they ran for cover and were quickly treated by Russian military medics. No other casualties were reported. The head of Russia’s coordination center for the Syrian crisis, Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying eight shells hit and that four journalists, from Russia, Canada, China and Bulgaria, sustained light injuries.
Just after reporters left, more shells landed in the area, killing three Syrian troops and wounding eight others, Konashenkov said. More shells landed in the area just after the reporters left, killing three Syrian troops and wounding eight others, said Konashenkov, the Russian military spokesman.
The partial cease-fire, which began at midnight Friday, has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half of Syria’s population. He said Russia has delivered around 580 tons of food aid to government-held areas in recent weeks. He also said that the Russian coordination center and a similar U.S. center in Amman, Jordan, have been in close contact, with the Russians calling the Americans several times a day to exchange information about the cease-fire.
Yet the truce has remained fragile, with violations reported in many areas and the opposition and Syrian government blaming each other. Russia’s defense ministry said on Tuesday the cease-fire has been violated 15 times in the past 24 hours. The cease-fire has remained fragile, however, with violations reported in many areas and the government and opposition trading blame. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday the cease-fire has been violated 15 times in the past 24 hours.
Opposition activists and state media reported some violence in different parts of Syria, including the southern city of Daraa, where residential areas were shelled. Also Tuesday, Syrian state news agency SANA said insurgents fired seven shells at government-held neighborhoods and the airport in the southern city of Daraa, where the uprising began in March 2011.
Before their trip to Kinsibba, the foreign reporters visited the nearby village of Ghunaymiyah, where residents recently began returning to their homes after the government last month captured the village from Nusra Front fighters. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, opposition groups that monitor the conflict, said government forces shelled rebel-held parts of the city.
Most of the buildings in Ghunaymiyah are just concrete shells, with windows and doors missing. The Observatory and other opposition activists also said five people were killed and more than 15 wounded when rockets slammed into two villages in the rebel-held northern province of Idlib.
Earlier in the day, the reporters had visited the northern village of Ghunaymiyah, near Kinsibba, where residents recently began returning to their homes after government forces drove out Nusra Front fighters last month. Most of the buildings were concrete shells, with windows and doors missing.
One resident, Musa Magardish, stood in shock in front of his ruined home. “I don’t have any money for rebuilding my house, and I have no idea how I can do it,” he said.One resident, Musa Magardish, stood in shock in front of his ruined home. “I don’t have any money for rebuilding my house, and I have no idea how I can do it,” he said.
Just across the street from his house, dozens lined up in front of a Russian military truck to receive food aid including canned meat, beans and other staples. “Everything is broken, everything is burned,” said 66-year-old Araksi Sarko, who said the Nusra fighters who had until recently occupied the city were “animals.”
“I have a big family, there are seven of us, we feel grateful for that,” said Nabila Chine, as one of her daughters stood next to her, smiling. At a village church damaged in the fighting, a few people gathered to clean up shards of glass and pieces of concrete littering the floor. Then they prayed.
Konashenkov said Russia has delivered around 580 tons of food aid to government-held areas since it began airstrikes in support of Syria’s government in September 2015. One of the parishioners, Farah Arijan, said Nusra Front militants badly damaged the church when they captured the village in 2012. “They also killed many of our people,” he said. “One woman was killed when she was trying to flee.”
At the village’s church, which was damaged in the fighting, a few people gathered to clean up the shards of glass and pieces of concrete littering the floor, before praying.
One of the parishioners, Farah Arijan, said Nusra Front militants badly damaged the church when they captured the village in 2012. “They also killed many of our people, one woman was killed when she was trying to flee,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.