World
A series of clashes across northern and western Syria on Tuesday threatened to break down a landmark ceasefire between Syrian government forces and rebels, just ahead of peace talks scheduled for this week in Geneva. The Syrian government is set to conduct parliamentary elections on Wednesday, a move that is considered as illegitimate and provocative by the opponents of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
Reuters writes:
France and Iran expressed their concern over the fresh upsurge in violence that could hit the “cessation of hostilities” agreement and derail the political process in a war-torn Syria. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a meeting with the U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Tehran and later blamed the increasing activities of rebels for escalating clashes.
France, which supports Syrian rebels, accused Assad government and its allies for fresh fighting and putting a severe strain on the partial truce, in effect since February 27.
Amid growing hostilities in Syria, the United Nations reaffirmed that the Geneva peace talks would resume on Wednesday while a Syrian government delegation said it would join the talks on Friday. The U.N. negotiator De Mistura said the peace talks would focus on developing a roadmap for “a transitional government, a new constitution and eventual elections.”
