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Syria conflict: UN envoy calls on US and Russia to save talks | Syria conflict: UN envoy calls on US and Russia to save talks |
(about 7 hours later) | |
The UN envoy to Syria has urged the US and Russia to intervene "at the highest level" to save struggling peace talks. | |
Speaking after briefing the Security Council on the peace process, Staffan de Mistura said a partial truce agreed in February was "barely alive". | |
Violence in Syria has intensified in recent days, despite the ceasefire. | Violence in Syria has intensified in recent days, despite the ceasefire. |
At least 20 civilians were reportedly killed on Wednesday in government strikes on a hospital and nearby residential building in eastern Aleppo. | At least 20 civilians were reportedly killed on Wednesday in government strikes on a hospital and nearby residential building in eastern Aleppo. |
The dead included children and the only paediatrician left in rebel-held areas of the city, civil defence volunteers told AFP news agency. | |
The upsurge in fighting in Syria's largest city comes amid reports that government forces, backed by Russian air power, are gearing up for a major offensive there. | |
Russia's continuing war | |
Has opportunity for peace been lost? | Has opportunity for peace been lost? |
What is left of Syria? | What is left of Syria? |
Assad's growing confidence | Assad's growing confidence |
The escalation has threatened to derail the UN-brokered peace talks, which resumed last month. | |
The Western-backed opposition delegation, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), last week suspended its role to protest against alleged ceasefire violations by the government and a fall in humanitarian aid deliveries to besieged areas. | |
Speaking on Wednesday after a third round of talks in Geneva, Mr de Mistura said the fragile "cessation of hostilities" "could collapse any time". | |
He said that over the past 48 hours an average of one Syrian had been killed every 25 minutes and one wounded every 13 minutes. | |
For the peace talks to succeed, Mr de Mistura said, hostilities would need to be reduced to the levels seen immediately following the February agreement. | |
Calling on the US and Russia to co-operate, Mr de Mistura said that the legacies of both President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin were linked to the success of the peace process in Syria. | |
There will be one or two more rounds of talks before July, Mr de Mistura said. He added: "There are still major differences on the major issues, but there is movement on certain areas where there was not before." | |
Mr de Mistura also said that equal rights and equal representation in major institutions for women was essential to the transition to a new Syria. | |
The peace talks do not involve the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front and the so-called Islamic State, which have been fighting government forces and other rebels across Syria. | |
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed on Wednesday that the air strikes on a hospital and nearby buildings in Aleppo were carried out by "regime airplanes". | |
Volunteer rescuers told AFP that a dentist and five members of a family, including two children, were among those killed by the strikes in the al-Sukkari neighbourhood. | Volunteer rescuers told AFP that a dentist and five members of a family, including two children, were among those killed by the strikes in the al-Sukkari neighbourhood. |
Separately, 11 people were killed in western Aleppo earlier on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory said. | Separately, 11 people were killed in western Aleppo earlier on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory said. |
More than 270,000 people have been killed since Syria's bitter civil war conflict erupted in 2011 and millions have been forced to flee. | More than 270,000 people have been killed since Syria's bitter civil war conflict erupted in 2011 and millions have been forced to flee. |