CAIRO/damascus: Arab states formally endorsed proposed peace talks to end the Syrian civil war that have been delayed by disputes between world powers and divisions among the opposition.
A final communique after an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers called on the opposition swiftly to form a delegation under the leadership of the mainstream Syrian National Coalition, to attend the “Geneva 2” talks. The Geneva talks are meant to bring Syria’s warring sides to the negotiating table, but many disputes still remain including the issue of whether Iran, Assad’s biggest regional supporter, should attend.
The opposition chief Ahmad Jarba, who is backed by Iran’s foe Saudi Arabia, told Arab foreign ministers the opposition coalition would not attend if Iran was there. He also said there had to be a clear time frame for Assad to leave power, and called for more weapons to be delivered to rebels fighting Assad.
The growing influence of radical Islamist fighters and divisions among rebel forces have made Western powers reluctant to intervene directly in a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people and driven millions from their homes.A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has been killed in Syria after volunteering to defend a Shia shrine in Damascus, the Iranian Mehr news agency said.
Commander Mohammad Jamalizadeh of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the southeastern province of Kerman was killed in the last few days by “Wahhabi terrorists”, the agency said, giving no more details. Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah group openly acknowledges its guerrillas are fighting for Assad, but Tehran denies its troops have been engaged directly in combat in Syria.
Turkish authorities have seized a large quantity of chemicals from a convoy trying to illegally enter the country from Syria, which “could be transformed into weapons”, the army said.
The convoy of three vehicles refused to stop as it attempted to illegally cross the border on Saturday near the southeastern town Turkish town of Reyhanli, the army said in a statement.
Para-military police were forced to shoot out the tyres of the vehicles to stop them, and three drivers jumped out and fled in the direction of Syria.
One of them was arrested, the army said without specifying his nationality. The haul of sulphur and another unidentified substance will be examined by a team of army specialists, the statement said. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported on Thursday that Syria’s entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal. This included 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents, which can be used to make weapons, and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons.
A UN Security Council resolution stating that the arsenal must be destroyed by mid-2014, was agreed by the United States and Russia to avert military strikes on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks near Damascus in August.
The West blamed those attacks, which killed hundreds of people, on President Bashar Al Assad’s regime, which denied all responsibility, instead blaming the attack on rebels. Once a close ally of Syria, Turkey has cut off ties with the regime in Damascus since Assad’s deadly crackdown on popular dissent began in March 2011 and has become one of the most fervent supporters of the Syrian rebellion.
Agencies
