New battles ahead as the Syrian sides continue political talks in Geneva

As the new round of political talks to resolve the Syrian Crisis has been started in Geneva, the forces on the ground have also reached some achievements in the operation against ISIS terrorists. This is while Damascus has declared recent foreign operations in Raqqa “illegitimate”.

کد خبر: ۶۷۹۶۳۵

تاریخ: ۰۵ فروردين ۱۳۹۶ - ۱۷:۱۵

Tabnak - As the new round of political talks to resolve the Syrian Crisis has been started in Geneva, the forces on the ground have also reached some achievements in the operation against ISIS terrorists. This is while Damascus has declared recent foreign operations in Raqqa "illegitimate”.

In Geneva, United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has warned not to expect "miracles" from the new round of negotiations.

At the same time, Aljazeera reports that Syrian government envoy in Geneva Bashar al-Jaafari accused the opposition of intentionally undermining the talks, saying an escalation of attacks over the past few days is "pushing everybody toward a total failure and fiasco in the political and diplomatic process".

For his part, Nasr al-Hariri, the Syrian opposition's chief negotiator in the talks, accused the government of targeting areas with civilians and carrying out arbitrary arrests.

In another position, following a meeting with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, Bashar al-Jaafari told the media any military presence on Syrian soil without the government’s prior approval would be considered illegitimate.

It came as France announced the battle to recapture the northern city of Raqqa from ISIL would begin in the coming days. English newspaper reports that US-backed Syrian fighters have reached a major dam held by the ISIS terrorist group in the north of Syria, according to officials.

Cihan Sheikh Ehmed, spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said the fighting was continuing at the entrance of the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River, adding that there are casualties among Isis fighters.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said SDF fighters were moving slowly towards the dam because of mines and explosives planted by ISIS.

At the same time, a spokesman from SDF declared his organization welcomes the participation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the coming operations to kick ISIS forces out Raqqa.

In declarations to the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, Talal Silo claimed the SDF has always stated that the Syrian people have the right to liberate their areas, and that the Syrian Army is an essential part of the Syrian homeland and people.

Meanwhile, at another development in in the battlefield, Almasdar News Reported that ISIS has withdrawn from the Al-Lajat Plateau of northeastern Dara’a after occupying this area with the terrorists for two years.

According to Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham’s official media wing, their forces took control of Hawsh Hamad in the Al-Lajat Plateau, following reports of the Islamic State’s mass withdrawal from this area.

All these developments represent that although the opposing sides of the Syrian Crisis have recently shown signs of a willingness to come to a political solution for the conflict, the developments in the field have still a great potential to change the course of events for or against each of the sides.