Red Cross pushes for Syrian ceasefire

The International Red Cross is trying to broker a ceasefire in the areas of Syria most affected by the conflict. The organization is negotiating with both sides in an attempt to create a window of a few hours to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians.

The announcement comes amid opposition reports of regime forces amassing around the besieged city of Homs, raising fears of a major ground assault that will use overwhelming firepower to obliterate the opposition.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of activist group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the Associated Press that “the human loss is going to be huge if [government forces] retake Baba Amr.”

The Red Cross is the only international aid agency that operates in Syria and has been delivering humanitarian help to civilians in the country since the beginning of the uprising against President Assad. However, the group has had difficulties reaching the most affected areas.

As the upheaval continues, Russia, which previously blocked a UN Security Council resolution along with China, has said it is resolved to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

“The UN Security Council is contemplating strategies and could undertake concrete steps aimed at solving humanitarian issues, relying, among other things, on the fact that Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions,” Russian representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin told TV station Vesti.

Up until now efforts to curtail rising tensions in Syria have been fruitless. President Bashar al-Assad’s announcement of an urgent referendum on a draft constitution has so far done little to abate the violence. The document seeks to meet opposition demands, stipulating an end the Baath Party political monopoly and two-term limit on future presidents.

RT correspondent Maria Finoshina is examining how the new draft constitution is causing controversy amongst the Syrian people. Many worry that the document will create more rifts between the country’s religious groups. Public debates have been opened in Damascus on the draft constitution to bring the people and the authors of the document together.

“People don’t trust referendum and reforms. They’re simply not used to it. We tell them that this is the new Syria,” Yazam Hakim, one of the debate organizers told RT.

The opposition has condemned the document and called for the Syrian people to boycott it.

Furthermore, a meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria group has been scheduled for this Friday in Tunisia. This will be the group’s first official meeting after China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that called for the removal of President Assad. The possibility of supplying the opposition with arms is expected to the main topic of discussion at the meeting, with the international community divided over the issue.

There have been increasing reports of militants and Al-Qaeda insurgents crossing over from Syria’s neighboring countries to bolster opposition forces.

With the appearance of extremist groups many experts believe that the arming of the fragmented opposition in Syria could topple the country into civil war.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes