ASTANA/GENEVA/MOSCOW: A fresh round of peace talks seeking to end Syria’s war began in the Kazakh capital Astana on Monday, as part of a Moscow-led push supported by Iran and opposition-backer Turkey.
The latest round of talks began days after Daesh was forced out of its de facto capital Raqqa in northern Syria.
Speaking to journalists after the first day of closed-door talks, Russia’s chief negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev expressed confidence that a political settlement to the six-year conflict was possible.
President Bashar Assad “has confirmed his readiness for... the preparation of a new constitution and the holding of new parliamentary and presidential elections on this basis,” Lavrentyev said on Monday.
He also said Russia is ready to host a “congress of the peoples of Syria” involving both regime and opposition representatives.
The precise date and location of the congress would be determined in Astana, Lavrentyev said, suggesting it could be at Russia’s Hmeimim military base in Syria.
Syria’s UN envoy Staffan de Mistura urged parties to move toward “a more stable political settlement” during a mid-October visit to Moscow.
Lavrentyev said Moscow was prepared to act as “a mediator” between Turkish forces in the Idlib zone and Damascus.
Russia expects all “terrorists” in Syria to be destroyed by the end of the year and then plans to keep enough troops in the country to prevent any new conflict, the Interfax news agency cited a prominent Russian senator as saying on Monday.
“We will leave in Syria only those troops necessary to avert a possible repeat of this terrorism,” the agency quoted Viktor Bondarev, the head of the upper house of Parliament’s defense and security committee, as saying.
In another development, a convoy from the UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered towns in the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta on Monday, bringing aid to 40,000 people for the first time since June 2016, the UN said.
A tightening siege by regime forces has pushed people to the verge of famine in the eastern suburbs, residents and aid workers said last week, bringing desperation to the only major opposition enclave near the Syrian capital.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Twitter they had entered the towns of Kafra Batna and Saqba.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said in a separate tweet that the inter-agency convoy had 49 trucks.
Fresh Syria peace talks open in Kazakh capital
Fresh Syria peace talks open in Kazakh capital
Pakistan says 34 militants killed in counterterror operations in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this week
- Security forces carried out a series of ‘high tempo intelligence-driven operations’ this week in the two provinces
- The counterterror operations take place amid surging tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 34 militants this week in the southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces bordering Afghanistan, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday amid a surge in militant attacks in the country.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said security forces carried out a series of “high tempo intelligence-driven operations” this week in the two provinces. It said 26 militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit were killed while eight militants were killed in Balochistan in the operations.
In the first counterterror operation on Tuesday, Pakistani forces targeted a TTP militant who was trying to enter the country in North Waziristan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the ISPR said. Three TTP militants were killed in a second counterterror operation in Lakki Marwat district, the military added.
In the third counterterror operation, 10 TTP militants were killed in Bannu district while 12 others were gunned down in North Waziristan in another separate operation, the ISPR said.
“During the fifth engagement, own troops conducted an intelligence-based operation in the general area of Sambaza, Zhob District,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.
“After an intense fire exchange, eight terrorists belonging to Fitna Al Hindustan were successfully neutralized.”
Pakistan’s military uses the terms “Fitna Al-Khwarij” for the TTP and “Fitna Al Hindustan” for separatist militants in Balochistan. Islamabad alleges these militant groups are supported by India, a charge New Delhi has always denied.
The ISPR said security forces retrieved weapons and ammunition from the militants in Balochistan’s Zhob district, adding that they were involved in “terrorist activities” in the area.
“The security forces of Pakistan remain resolute and unwavering in their commitment to defend the nation’s frontiers,” the ISPR said.
Four police personnel killed
Separately, four police personnel were killed in KP’s district Bajaur on Wednesday after they were ambushed by unidentified gunmen.
The police personnel were on patrol duty when the gunmen opened fire on them, a statement from the chief minister’s office said.
“Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot shake the resolve and morale of the police force,” Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was quoted as saying.
The counterterror operations take place amid surging tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad said it carried out strikes on alleged militant camps in Afghanistan on Saturday night, killing over 100 militants.
Afghanistan said the attacks violated its territorial sovereignty, accusing Islamabad of killing and wounding dozens of civilians.
Islamabad alleges militants based in Afghanistan are responsible for surging militant attacks inside Pakistani territory. Afghanistan rejects these allegations and urges Pakistan to focus on its security challenges instead of blaming Kabul.
