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Syrian Forces Claim Major Blow Against Rebels Kerry Blames Syria Government for Deadlock in Talks
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian forces killed scores of rebel fighters in an ambush east of the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday, opposition activists and the government said, dealing a major blow to efforts by rebels to open a supply line to a besieged area. WASHINGTON — The State Department accused the Syrian government on Wednesday of retaliating against the Syrian opposition’s representatives to the Geneva peace talks by arresting their family members.
The exact death toll remained unclear, with the government claiming that it had killed more than 175 rebels, many of them non-Syrian jihadists, and an opposition activist in the area saying more than 40 fighters were killed, with dozens more unaccounted for. There have been two rounds of unproductive talks in Geneva between the Syrian opposition and a delegation from the Syrian government, which is led by President Bashar al-Assad.
Secretary of State John Kerry has blamed the Assad government for the deadlock in the talks and said that it had undermined them by putting opposition delegates on a terrorist list and seizing their assets. On Wednesday, the State Department asserted that the Syrian government had also been detaining some of the delegates’ relatives.
“The United States is outraged by reports that the Assad regime has arrested family members of the Syrian Opposition Coalition delegation to the Geneva II peace talks, designated delegates as terrorists and seized delegates’ assets,” Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement.
“We call on the regime to immediately and unconditionally release all those unfairly arrested, including Mahmoud Sabra, brother of Geneva delegation member Mohammed Sabra,” she added. According to a statement issued last week by the Syrian opposition, Mohammed Sabra said his brother had been detained at a checkpoint in the town of Jaramana.
In Syria on Wednesday, government forces killed scores of rebels in an ambush east of Damascus, opposition activists and the government said, dealing a major blow to efforts by rebels to open a supply line to a besieged area. The exact toll remained unclear, with the government claiming it had killed more than 175 rebels, many of them non-Syrian jihadists, and an opposition activist in the area saying more than 40 fighters were killed, with dozens more unaccounted for.
For months, government forces have been besieging a number of rebel-held areas near Damascus, causing fuel and food shortages intended to weaken the rebels. The strategy appears to be working, although human rights organizations and the United Nations have criticized the use of such tactics because they harm civilians.For months, government forces have been besieging a number of rebel-held areas near Damascus, causing fuel and food shortages intended to weaken the rebels. The strategy appears to be working, although human rights organizations and the United Nations have criticized the use of such tactics because they harm civilians.
The Syrian state news agency, SANA, said government forces had relied on intelligence information to track the rebels’ movements and ambush them, killing more than 175 fighters from the Nusra Front, Syria’s Qaeda affiliate, including citizens of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. SANA and pro-government activists also published images of dozens of bodies strewn about a dirt road through a field. The Syrian state news agency, SANA, said government forces had relied on intelligence information to track the movement of rebels and ambush them, killing more than 175 fighters from the Nusra Front, Syria’s Qaeda affiliate, including citizens of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. SANA and pro-government activists also published images of dozens of bodies strewn about a dirt road.
A video released by Lebanon’s Al Manar TV appeared to support the government’s claim of huge casualties, showing a long line of people said to be rebel fighters walking along a distant road that then blows up, apparently because it had been lined with explosives. While most of the people fall to the ground, immobile, a few try to flee amid the sound of automatic gunfire before another large explosion hits the area.A video released by Lebanon’s Al Manar TV appeared to support the government’s claim of huge casualties, showing a long line of people said to be rebel fighters walking along a distant road that then blows up, apparently because it had been lined with explosives. While most of the people fall to the ground, immobile, a few try to flee amid the sound of automatic gunfire before another large explosion hits the area.
Al Manar is run by Hezbollah, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, and has sent many of its own fighters to battle the rebels in Syria. Al Manar is run by Hezbollah, an ally of Mr. Assad’s that has sent many of its own fighters to confront the rebels in Syria.
An opposition activist who gave only his first name, Rafi, said via Skype from an eastern suburb of Damascus that 70 fighters from the Nusra Front and other rebel brigades had set out to try to open a supply line to a besieged area east of Damascus when mines embedded in the road near the village of Otaybeh exploded and government forces fired on them with machine guns.An opposition activist who gave only his first name, Rafi, said via Skype from an eastern suburb of Damascus that 70 fighters from the Nusra Front and other rebel brigades had set out to try to open a supply line to a besieged area east of Damascus when mines embedded in the road near the village of Otaybeh exploded and government forces fired on them with machine guns.
At least 44 rebels were killed and the rest were missing, Rafi said, adding that he suspected that an informer had tipped off the government to the rebels’ plans.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group based in Britain that tracks the conflict through a network of contacts inside Syria, said 70 rebels had been killed while more than twice that many were missing.
The observatory also said forces from Hezbollah had taken part in the ambush.
Last month, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, singled out the eastern Ghouta area, on the outskirts of Damascus, saying: “The situation is shocking: 160,000 people have gone without aid for more than a year. The United Nations is prepared to enter the area to provide assistance, but we need the full cooperation of the Syrian government.”
The area, northeast of Damascus, also took the brunt of a chemical weapons attack last August in which hundreds died.
Word of the killings came less than two weeks after a second round of stalled peace talks in Geneva ended without progress on stopping a conflict that has killed more than 140,000 people and driven 9.5 million from their homes.