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Wednesday, September 21, 2016

John Kerry demands no fly zone over Syria as well as ceasefire

Fighting has broken out on numerous fronts in Syria, as diplomats try desperately to shore up a ceasefire that appears to be in tatters.
Syrian rebels and pro-government forces have been battling each other near Aleppo and Hama, hours after Russia released drone footage which it said showed a militant weapon accompanying an aid convoy that was subsequently attacked.
Passage of the aid convoy, which US officials said was struck by Russian jets, was supposed to have been secured by a ceasefire that was agreed by the various factions fighting around Aleppo.
The UN Security Council, including the US, Russia and the UK, is currently holding a high-level meeting on Syria in New York.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the delegates the world was facing a "make or break moment" in Syria, as he urged world powers to use their influence allow Syrians "to negotiate a way out of the hell in which they are trapped".

Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry prepare to discuss the ceasefire in Syria
Image Caption:Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry prepare to discuss the ceasefire in Syria
Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said he wanted to see a thorough and impartial investigation into the attack on the aid convoy.
But, US Secretary of State John Kerry said listening to Mr Lavrov made him feel as if he was in a "parallel universe".
He said that the attack on the aid convoy raise "profound doubt" over whether Russia and Syria would live up to the deal made in Geneva, but he still believed there was a way forward "out of the carnage".
That, he said, would follow a ban on Syrian government forces flying over areas controlled by the opposition and all aircraft must be grounded while the situation is de-escalated.
As the truce seemed to be in pieces amid the war of words, there were several reports of fighting in Syria itself. They included:
::  Nine rebels and four medical staff were reportedly killed by an airstrike in the insurgent-held town of Khan Touman south of Aleppo.
:: Syrian state media said the army had recaptured a fertiliser factory in the Ramousah area to the southwest of the city.
:: A rebel fighter in the Aleppo area and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Right told Reuters fighter jets had been bombing in several locations.
:: The observatory also said a Syrian jet crashed near Damascus. Islamic State said it had been shot down but the regime has not yet commented.
:: And a Syrian government source said insurgent groups were preparing to launch attacks to the south and west of Aleppo and north of Hama.
The US said it was determined to press on with attempts to shore up the ceasefire, claiming it was "not dead".
The truce came into effect on 12 September in order to create a safe corridor for aid into war-torn Aleppo, where many of the inhabitants are said to be in dire need.
The ceasefire deal was also supposed to be an agreement between Washington and Moscow to target their common enemy Islamic State.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the airstrike on the aid convoy on Monday evening, which killed around 20 civilians delivering humanitarian supplies in rebel-held Urm al Kubra near Aleppo.
The US believes two Russian Su-24 jets carried out the attack, based on location and timing.
But Moscow has denied it was behind the raid and released drone footage of what it claimed was the convoy being accompanied by the armed truck.
In the drone footage released by Russia, the vehicle said to be a heavy weapon is seen driving alongside the fleet of trucks parked by a warehouse.
The drone moved away to a different area before the strike.
The convoy was hit hours after four US-led coalition airstrikes - in which a British Reaper drone was said to have played a part - killed 60 Syrian soldiers at a base near Deir al Zor airport.
All aid convoys in Syria are currently suspended.
Dr Julian Lewis, the chair of the UK Parliament's Defence Select Committee, which has released a report calling for a more clearly thought-through strategic approach to Syria, said the attack should not prevent future co-operation.
He said: "Unfortunately, it shows that every time you try to do move towards some sort of co-operation a lack of realism of what is actually achievable in Syria gets in the way and you get unilateral acts.
"Possibly this was the Russians aiming at what they thought what was a mortar, going by some parked lorries, and they didn't care what was in the lorries, we don't know.
"But certainly there are grounds for greater co-operation with Russia, where we have some common grounds in the Middle East."

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