Syria Ceasefire Starts Saturday – UN Envoy De Mistura to Arrange New Round of Talks

nsnbc : Friday February 26 the deadline for insurgents in Syria to declare whether or not they agree to the ceasefire that is to come in force on Saturday expires. UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura stated he will announce a date for the resumption of the Geneva III Talks on Friday.

Syria war_Jul 2015_NEO

Following the recent agreement by the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG),  combatants in Syria will have to declare whether or not they will participate in the ceasefire by Friday at noon local time (10:00 GMT). Those who participate in the ceasefire are to cease hostilities on Saturday.

Not included in the agreement are the self-proclaimed Islamic State ( a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), the Syrian Al-Qaeda franchise Jabhat Al-Nusrah, Ahrar Al-Sham, and other insurgencies and terrorist gangs who have been designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations. That means, that Syrian and allied forces including the Syrian Arab Army and Air Force, Syrian Self-Defense Forces, the Syrian Kurdish PYG / YPG, Hezbollah, Iranian and Russian forces, as well as members of the U.S.-led alliance against ISIS will continue operations against the Islamic State and other insurgencies who either are designated as terrorist organizations or against those who have not declared that they agree to the terms of the ceasefire by Friday.

The ISSG agreed that Russian military personnel at the Hmeinim Air Base in Syria shall service a hotline for all parties who participate in the ceasefire. The hotline shall help avoid unwanted conflicts, help de-escalate situations and help to reinstate the cessation of hostilities in situations where armed hostilities resume, whether this happens wonted or unwanted.

Displaced twice. Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

Displaced twice. Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told the press that the ISSG Task Force will convene for the first time in Geneva on Friday. The meeting shall serve as an opportunity for diplomats from ISSG countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran to say whether or not they endorse the joint Russian – US proposal. Syria, for its part, has endorsed the proposal but added that it will not allow terrorists to take advantage of the cessation of hostilities.

De Mistura also stressed that the United Nations, on Friday, will name a date for Syria’s warring parties to return to the negotiating table and resume the stalled Geneva III Talks. The first round of the talks was abruptly aborted on February 3, when representatives of the internationally backed “opposition’s”, Saudi Arabia-based High Negotiations Council walked out of the talks.

The United Nations declared that it would do everything in its power to mitigate the terrible humanitarian crisis that has befallen the country and Syrians in Syria as well as those who were displaced, once there is a stable ceasefire in place.

F/AK – nsnbc 25.02.2016

Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/02/25/syria-ceasefire-starts-saturday-un-envoy-de-mistura-to-arrange-new-round-of-talks/

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