Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 19 February 2020
Russia and Turkey agree on more talks on Syria amid crisis

By SUZAN FRASER and vances have sparked rare
JAMEY KEATEN clashes between Syria and
Associated Press Turkey, which backs Syria's
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — rebels and has troops in
Talks between Russia and the region to monitor a
Turkey meant to reduce 2018 cease-fire deal. Tur-
tensions in northwestern key's president has warned
Syria did not yield a "satis- Assad to halt the advance
factory result" for Ankara, and sent thousands of
but both sides agreed to troops and equipment into
continue negotiations, a the opposition enclave to
spokesman for Turkey's try to stall the Syrian gov-
president said Tuesday. ernment offensive.
Turkey and Russia support Already home to more than
rival groups in the Syrian 3.5 million Syrian refugees,
conflict and for the past Turkey fears a new influx of
few years have been close- people may overwhelm its
ly coordinating their moves borders which it has kept
in Idlib province. A truce sealed in recent years.
reached between the two The resumption of joint pa-
countries collapsed in late trols in Hassakeh, in eastern
2019, leading to an offen- Syria, was a possible sign of
sive by Russian-backed Syr- easing tensions.
ian troops who captured The U.N. Human Rights Of-
wide areas in the last rebel fice said it recorded 298
stronghold and triggered civilian deaths in Idlib and
one of the civil war's worst Aleppo, where the govern-
humanitarian crises with ment offensive has been
about 900,000 people flee- concentrated, since Jan. 1.
ing their homes. It said 93 percent of those
A Turkish delegation end- deaths were caused by the
ed two days of talks with Syrian government and its
Russian officials in Mos- allies. In addition, 10 medi-
cow, and Ibrahim Kalin, cal facilities and 19 educa-
the spokesman for Turkish tional facilities were either
President Recep Tayyip directly hit or affected by
Erdogan, said both sides nearby strikes, the U.N. of-
agreed to meet again. fice said.
"We did not accept the U.N. Secretary-General An-
document and map that tonio Guterres decried suf-
was presented to us," Kalin fering of Syrians as "horrible"
said, adding that Turkey's Civilians flee from Idlib toward the north to find safety inside Syria near the border with Turkey, in the 9-year-old civil war.
position was for a return to Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. In an interview with The As-
the lines laid out under a Associated Press sociated Press in Lahore,
cease-fire agreement for Pakistan, Guterres called
Idlib in 2018. rights chief urged Syrian ficials. rupted the movement of for an immediate cease-
Briefing journalists after a government forces and Many of the civilians are trucks bringing supplies to fire, urging Turkey, Russia
Cabinet meeting, Kalin also their allies to allow safe cor- sleeping in open fields and the region. and Iran to find a political
said it was out of the ques- ridors in conflict areas in under trees in freezing tem- Backed by Russian air solution.
tion for Turkey to move the northwestern Syria, where peratures. power, Syrian government Bachelet also urged all par-
positions of its observation a military offensive has un- "Children and families are troops have made swift ad- ties begin an immediate
posts. leashed a massive wave caught between the vio- vances, seizing dozens of cease-fire and ensure the
Turkey will continue send- of fleeing civilians in one of lence, the biting cold, the towns and villages in Idlib protection of all civilians.
ing in reinforcements "to the worst humanitarian ca- lack of food and the des- province and nearby rural She called on the Syrian
protect the region and ci- tastrophes in the long civil perate living conditions. areas around Aleppo. government and its allies
vilians," Kalin said, adding war. Such abject disregard for In the past week, Assad's to allow humanitarian cor-
that Ankara would respond Michelle Bachelet told re- the safety and well-being forces have secured a stra- ridors in conflict areas to
to any attack against its porters in Geneva it was of children and families is tegic highway known as permit the safe passage of
troops "in the strongest "cruel beyond belief" that beyond the pale and must the M5 and consolidated civilians.
way, like we did in the past civilians live under plas- not go on," said Henrietta control over Aleppo prov- "No shelter is now safe,"
weeks." tic sheeting in freezing Ford, executive director of ince for the first time since Bachelet said. "And as
The Russian Foreign Min- conditions while getting the U.N.'s children agency. 2012, dealing a severe the government offensive
istry said in a statement bombed. About half the region's blow to the opposition now continues and people are
that "both sides noted their Her appeal came after a population had already fighting to hold its last bas- forced into smaller and
adherence to the existing day after Syrian President fled other parts of Syria, tion in Idlib. smaller pockets, I fear even
agreements that envisage Bashar Assad pledged to and displacement refugee Turkey has restarted joint more people will be killed."
measures to reduce ten- press ahead with a military camps are full. Aid organi- patrols with the Russian mili- Syrian opposition activists,
sions, ease the humanitar- campaign in the northwest zations, including the U.N. tary in northeastern Syria af- meanwhile, reported air-
ian situation and continue that hasdisplaced many World Food Program, have ter a two-week hiatus due strikes on several rebel-held
the fight against terrorism." people from their homes been forced to stop food to the escalation in Idlib, areas Tuesday, including
The end of the talks came since the start of Decem- distribution temporarily be- the Russian military said. the outskirts of the town of
hours after the U.N. human ber, according to U.N. of- cause the fighting has dis- The government's rapid ad- Atareb and Daret Azzeh.q