Syria welcomes New Year with bombs, 69 dead
Syrians woke up on New Year's Day in Damascus to the sound of bombs and shelling and Aleppo airport was closed after rebel attacks, casting further doubt on efforts to end 21 months of conflict.
The brutality of the war was shown in a video recently posted online by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which allegedly shows two soldiers stabbing two prisoners to death. In another development seen as a further blow to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a Turkish diplomat said about 20 members of the Syrian army, including a general, fled to Turkey on January 1.
Syrian government forces on New Year's Eve (Source: AFP)
“The soldiers who fled to Türkiye include a general, three colonels and several other officers,” the diplomat told AFP in Ankara. Dozens of senior officers, as well as diplomats and political figures, have left Syria since the conflict began.
At least 69 people have been killed in Syria in clashes over the first two days of the new year, taking the war death toll to more than 46,000. Aircraft bombed the northeastern and western suburbs of Damascus to stop rebels advancing on the capital, and army troops attacked strongholds on the road to Damascus airport. At least 13 people were killed in the capital.
In northern Syria, where rebels control large swathes of territory, authorities announced the closure of Aleppo airport following rebel attacks. An airport official told AFP the airport would be closed “for a very short time” as the army tries to regain control of rebel-held areas to avoid “a humanitarian tragedy.”
“The armed opposition forces have tried to target civilian aircraft, which could cause a humanitarian tragedy,” the official said. Analysts say the army is seeking full control of Damascus and its surrounding areas to create the necessary conditions for future dialogue after the government said it welcomed any efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi told parliament on Monday that the government would “respond to regional and international initiatives to resolve the current crisis through dialogue and peaceful means.” His comments came after the special envoy of the Arab League and the United Nations, Lakhdar Brahimi, announced on Sunday that he had drawn up a draft plan “that can be approved by the international community.”
Mr Brahimi’s proposal includes a ceasefire, the formation of a new government and elections, based on a deal between major powers in Geneva in June. The opposition has rejected the Geneva deal and insists Mr Assad must go before any dialogue can take place./.
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