Syrian opposition to meet UN envoy over humanitarian demands

He said he would meet with the main opposition group later in the day.

More than a quarter of a million people have been killed since the conflict erupted in 2011, and half the country’s population has been forced to flee their homes.

Pointing to the what he said was the starvation of people in the town of Madaya, and the siege of 15 other towns and cities in Syria, he said this was “not just a war crime but a crime against humanity if proven in court”.

The Syrian army, in their turn, launched their biggest offensive in a year, north of Aleppo on Monday. Hezbollah and Shiite groups from Iraq are known to have fighters in the area. Nobody is serious. We really trust our friends… but we need to see (it) – if they take one step then we will take 10. The Syrian government team has now met De Mistura twice.

The opposition says the government air strikes are killing civilians.

The HNC is also demanding the release of prisoners, in line with a UN Security Council resolution approved in December.

Asked whether Damascus was ready to discuss these issues, Ja’afari said all issues were a priority for the government, including terrorism and humanitarian matters. But he suggested they might come about as a result of the talks, not before them.

The Syrian opposition delegation formed after meetings in Moscow and Cairo plans to insist on the inclusion of the Kurdish minority in ongoing intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, a Syrian opposition figure told Sputnik on Tuesday.

There were signs that the Syrian government and opposition were exploring avenues for progress on those issues, even as the violence around Damascus, the Syrian capital, served as a reminder of the powerful forces opposing any compromise.

Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersA general view shows the damage at the ancient al-Atroush mosque in the old city of Aleppo, Syria January 28, 2016.

Opposition members have listed their own demands for the regime. It’s obvious that that is too hard.

A Western diplomat said that on Sunday UN envoy Staffan de Mistura made proposals to a mistrustful HNC in talks in a Geneva hotel, but that they were still hesitating.

De Mistura will try to convince the sides to maintain restraint as much as possible. The resolution underpins the Swiss negotiating effort. Beyond that, the challenges are enormous and include lingering divisions over Assad’s future. It said the dead fighters included Syrians and foreigners. Islamic State is at war with both Assad and the rebels, and is fighting for its its own “caliphate” rather than a reformed Syria.

Talks aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict were due to begin in earnest at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday, with representatives of the warring parties sitting in separate rooms and UN officials shuttling between them.

This dispute about whether the PYD or any Kurdish group would attend the talks was a factor in pushing back the negotiations from last Monday to Friday. The bombing was claimed by the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.