Beirut: Syria’s main domestic and exiled opposition groups said Friday they had agreed a joint draft roadmap for the first time calling for a transitional governing body and an end to the brutal conflict.
The draft document comes after representatives from the exiled Syrian National Coalition and the domestic National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC) met in Paris.
“This is the first time that we have an agreement between both organizations, the Coalition and the NCCDC,” said Khalaf Dahowd, a member of the NCCDC’s executive bureau.
Dahowd said representatives from the two opposition groups met in Paris between Sunday and Tuesday, at talks hosted by France but carried out without international involvement.
“It was Syrian-Syrian. There was no foreign power involved. No one was in our meetings, and that was very good,” he told AFP.
He said the two sides had agreed a draft document based on UN Security Council resolutions on Syria and the so-called Geneva communique that emerged from peace talks in the Swiss city in 2012.
In a statement, the National Coalition said the document “specifies that the primary goal of negotiations with the Assad regime is to establish a civil, democratic, pluralistic system that ensures equal rights and duties for all Syrians.”
“It stresses that a regional and international consensus is needed for negotiations to succeed,” the statement added.
The National Coalition is the key political representative of Syria’s opposition and is officially recognized by much of the international community.
It has participated in several rounds of failed peace talks and insists that Syria’s President Bashar Assad must step down in any resolution of the country’s nearly four-year-old conflict.
The NCCDC, which is also known as the National Coordination Body, is part of the country’s small so-called “tolerated” opposition, operating inside Syria under tight restrictions.
The two opposition groups met in Cairo in January, but the Coalition was only represented informally, and no agreement emerged.
A key sticking point in peace talks has been the future of Assad.
The Coalition insists he must step down, while the NCCDC has called for a transitional body, without referring specifically to Assad’s role.
Dahowd said the draft document referenced the Geneva communique’s call for a transitional body with full powers.
“The Geneva communique talks about a transitional government body that should have full power, so that includes executive powers,” he said.
The meeting drew praise from Washington, a key backer of the Coalition.
“The effort reflects the moderate opposition’s ongoing work for a democratic, pluralistic, united Syria that fully respects the state of law and the rights of every citizen through a negotiated process consistent with the principles of the Geneva communique,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday.
Syria domestic, exiled opposition agree crisis roadmap
Syria domestic, exiled opposition agree crisis roadmap
Bahrain arrests four for spying for Iran’s IRGC as Gulf attacks intensify
- Investigators said the suspects were found to have sent pictures and coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain to the IRGC via encrypted software
MANAMA: Bahrain has detained four citizens suspected of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states show no signs of letting up.
Bahrain’s General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science identified the four detainees as Murtadha Hussain Awal, 25; Ahmed Isa Al Haiki, 34; Sarah Abdulnabi Marhoon, 36; and Elias Salman Mirza, 22. A fifth suspect, Ali Mohammed Hassan Al Shaikh, 25, remains at large abroad.
Investigators said Murtadha Hussain and his cohorts, acting on IRGC instructions, used high-resolution equipment to photograph and record coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain, transmitting the data to the IRGC via encrypted software.
The arrests come as Iran escalates attacks across the Gulf. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued an advisory urging residents in Hidd, Arad, Qalali and Samaheej to stay indoors and seal windows against smoke from fires sparked by Iranian strikes. Fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq Governorate, northeast of Manama, were among the targets. Oman’s Port of Salalah also battled blazes at fuel storage tanks following separate Iranian drone strikes.
Elsewhere in the region, two Iranian drones struck near Dubai International Airport, wounding four people, though flights continued uninterrupted. A fire broke out at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbour after another drone hit — extinguished by Thursday morning.
Iran also targeted commercial ships and struck what officials described as the world’s busiest international airport on Wednesday, as US and Israeli strikes continued to pound Tehran.
A war now 12 days old — and costly
The conflict began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Tehran has since retaliated by targeting Gulf states, US and Israeli assets, and critical energy infrastructure.
Iran has declared a blockade on energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas flows, sending commodity prices surging and rattling international markets.
The Pentagon told Congress this week that the first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion — including $5 billion in munitions in the conflict’s opening weekend alone.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbors. Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei welcomed the move.
“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy security and global trade,” he said.
Despite the resolution, there were no immediate signs the conflict was easing.
(With AP)
