UN and Arab League special envoy on Syria Brahimi: Assad speech was “lost opportunity” for Syria peace; Rebels capture key military airbase; Humanitarian crisis deepens for Syrian refugees; Arab foreign ministers hold emergency meeting on Syria crisis; Ru
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    • According to reports, UN and Arab League special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said that the address last week by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was a “lost opportunity” to resolve the crisis in the country. Although Assad had earlier conveyed to Brahimi that he had a new initiative in mind, Brahimi has said that the latest address is not very different from past initiatives by Assad, and is “perhaps even more sectarian, more one-sided”. Brahimi has also confirmed that Assad has said he will stand in the scheduled presidential elections in 2014. Brahimi’s efforts have involved talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and the US Deputy Secretary of State, to invite all Syrian parties to begin a dialogue. 1

    Meanwhile, Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels were reported to have taken control of a strategic military airbase in north-west Syria following weeks of fighting with government forces. The Taftanaz military airport in Idlib province had been used previously by government forces to bomb rebel-held areas and to deliver supplies to these forces. The military was reported to have pre-emptively destroyed aircraft at the base to prevent rebels from gaining access to them. 2

    According to reports, Foreign ministers of Arab League member states met on January 13 in Cairo to discuss the Syrian crisis and form a team to visit Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey to assess their needs. Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said that UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had not failed in his mission and that Brahimi has suggested several positive plans for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. 3

    Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Russia does not agree with Syrian President Assad’s removal as a prerequisite for resolution of the crisis in the country. Lavrov said that despite this condition not being part of the Geneva agreement (formulated in June last year by the Action Group for Syria), some countries involved in talks held on to this. Lavrov also noted that dialogue between the various parties in the conflict was not likely to take place. 4

    In other developments, reports noted that the International Rescue Committee has requested international donors to step up aid for Syrian refugees as the UN estimated that more than 60,000 people have been killed as a result of the Syrian conflict since 2011. More than 600,000 Syrians have fled the country and around 2 million have been internally displaced within Syria. Refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq are facing the region’s worst winter storms in 20 years with inadequate clothing and shelter available. 5

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