The main Syrian opposition group at peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday, accused Damascus of “stalling,” after its chief envoy demanded all sides condemn the deadly suicide assault in Homs on Saturday.
The High Negotiations Committee made the charge after the Syrian regime’s chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari said any opposition delegates who refused to condemn the attack were “accomplices of terrorism.”
“Jaafari is stalling, they don’t want to start the political transition,” commission spokesman Salem al-Meslet told reporters in Geneva, where sputtering UN-sponsored peace talks are taking place.
He said that in previous Geneva meetings, and now this one, “the only word that the regime knows is terrorism. In fact he is stalling by only mentioning this word and the fight against terrorism.”
“Just as he is insisting on condemning the incident that happened yesterday, we also demand the regime delegation to tell everyone that they are committed to political transition,” he added.
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura launched the fourth round of Genelast week, but as in previous meetings there appears little prospect of the two sides meeting face-to-face.
In the Homs attack, blasts targeted two security service bases, killing dozens including a top intelligence chief and close confidant of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 people were killed, but the provincial governor put the figure at 30 dead in the attacks claimed by former al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front.
The Syrian regime’s delegation chief in Geneva vowed “retaliation” in response to the atrocity and demanded all opposition delegates condemn it.
In response, comission chief negotiator Nasr al-Hariri said: “Our positions are clear in condemning terrorism and terrorists.”
When asked to clarify if that meant he condemned the Homs attacks, he said: “We condemn all terrorist operations committed by terrorist groups, and if what happened in Homs is a terrorist operation then my remarks are clear.”
The Homs attacks came a day after 77 people, mostly civilians, were killed in a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group in al-Bab, Syria, said the observatory.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was