JEDDAH: The Syrian opposition is cautiously optimistic about new peace talks but wants guarantees on safety and security for civilians and strengthened de-escalation zones, an opposition leader told Arab News on Wednesday.
He spoke as key international players in Syria’s civil war gathered in Kazakhstan for a fresh round of negotiations over a Russian-led plan to ease fighting on the ground.
Representatives from Russia and Iran, who are the Assad regime’s key backers, and Turkey, which supports opposition groups, held “talks on an expert level” to lay the groundwork for two days of meetings that will include regime and opposition representatives, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Delegates will be expected to discuss the fate of over 3 millions Syrians living under siege by regime forces and Iranian and Hezbollah militias, Yahya Al-Aridi, a political adviser to the Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told Arab News.
They will also try to finalize details of a proposed de-escalation zone in the northern Idlib province, after Moscow set up three other safe areas around the country in a move that has led to a reduction in violence.
There remain major disagreements over who will police the zone covering opposition-held Idlib, on Syria’s northern border with Turkey, as Ankara and Tehran jockey for influence.
“We are cautiously optimistic about the Astana 6 talks as there will be the biggest gathering of individuals representing the various Syrian opposition fronts,” Al-Aridi said.
“We are seeking to ensure the safety and security of civilians, innocent Syrian people who are been denied basic commodities because of the siege imposed by the criminal regime’s forces and the sectarian militias.”
He said the Syrian opposition representatives had agreed to urge the UN and the Russian parties to pressure the Syrian regime to allow aid convoys into the besieged areas.
Al-Aridi said the aim of their participation in the meeting was to strengthen the de-escalation zones in Syria, in Eastern Ghouta, the south, and north of Homs, and to discuss violations of the cease-fire agreement signed in Ankara at the end of the last year.
He said there was a potential obstacle in the presence of the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusrah, in the negotiated areas, and the militants would have to accept any agreement reached in the talks.
“Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham forces will have to give up their arms for the sake of the safety of civilians. If they refuse then they will hear a different tone from us,” he said.
Al-Aridi believes that once an agreement is reached with the consent of all parties in Astana, it would pave the way for serious political talks in the forthcoming meeting in Geneva.
“The Astana meeting is dedicated to the military and humanitarian aspects of the Syrian crisis, while in Geneva the talks will focus on the political process,” he said.
“We will also discuss the fate of tens of thousands of Syrians who were forcibly arrested by regime mobs and sectarian militias. We will urge the UN and the Russian Federation to secure their release, and to end the brutal detention practiced by the Syrian regime against innocent people.”
The talks in Astana are the sixth round of negotiations Moscow has led since the start of the year as it seeks to pacify Syria after its game-changing intervention on the side of Bashar Assad.
Syrian opposition ‘cautiously optimistic’ at Astana talks
Syrian opposition ‘cautiously optimistic’ at Astana talks
Two babies dead after incident forces evacuation of Israel nursery
- Police said three caregivers present at the centre had been detained for questioning
JERUSALEM: Israeli doctors declared two babies dead after medics evacuated 55 children from a daycare centre in Jerusalem on Monday, with local media reporting the incident may have been linked to the facility's heating system.
A baby girl was pronounced dead after being brought to hospital in "critical condition", Gal Pachis, head of the emergency centre at Shaare Zedek Hospital, told journalists in a statement broadcast live on television.
A baby boy, approximately six months old, was declared dead despite resuscitation efforts, the Hadassah Medical Centre said in a statement.
Medics did not specify the cause of the deaths.
Earlier, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said paramedics were "providing medical treatment and evacuating 55 casualties to hospitals in the city, including two infants in critical condition".
"Resuscitation efforts are ongoing, and 53 infants are undergoing further medical examinations and treatment," it said in a statement.
Police said three caregivers present at the centre had been detained for questioning.
The Times of Israel reported that the daycare centre in Jerusalem was operating without a licence and that investigators were examining whether the incident was connected to its heating system.
The centre is located in an apartment on Hamem Gimel Street, in an area predominantly inhabited by members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
"Forensic experts are on site conducting all necessary investigative measures to locate evidence and clarify the circumstances that led to the injuries of the infants," police said in a separate statement.
The nursery is on the second floor of the building, an AFP correspondent reported.
There were no signs of fire or any physical damage to the building, the correspondent said, adding that several medics and police officers were deployed in the area.
Zalmi Neufeld, 22, told AFP at the scene that he saw "emergency personnel pulling kids out of the building".
"I saw parents crying, a lot of kids crying, kids all over the place," he added.
"It was like a war zone."
Police earlier said the incident was suspected to have involved hazardous materials, but later ruled this out.
In a post on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he shared the "deep sorrow" of the families involved.
"The loss of the lives of very young children is an immense, unspeakable tragedy, and my heart goes out to all the parents and children who have been affected," he wrote, calling for an investigation and accountability.
