MESOPOTAMIA NEWS TOP OF THE AGENDA : UN Pleads for Cease-Fire as Syrian Regime Advances – A SAMPLER OF RELEVANT SOURCES

UN Pleads for Cease-Fire as Syrian Regime Advances

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will address the Security Council on ongoing hostilities in Syria despite a recent resolution calling for a temporary cease-fire (KUNA) as the Syrian military moves closer to retaking a Damascus suburb from the opposition.

Syrian government forces recaptured the town of Mudeira over the weekend, effectively driving a wedge into the suburb (Middle East Eye), the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta. At least 1,099 civilians, including more than three hundred women and children, have been killed since the government launched an offensive (Al Jazeera) in the area last month, according to a UK-based monitoring group.

ANALYSIS

“Taking Ghouta would enable the regime to further consolidate control around the capital and move toward its goal of ending the conflict through force rather than a political settlement,” Raja Abdulrahim writes for the Wall Street Journal.

“Many are making parallels between the current campaign in Eastern Ghouta and the one that both the government and Russia conducted in East Aleppo at the end of 2016. There are definite similarities between these and other cases: a strategy of besiegement and starvation followed by heavy bombardment,” Lina Khatib writes for Middle East Eye.

“The United States, and the international community—including Syria’s neighbors—have a responsibility to do more, but convincing Putin that the United States will actually stand up to Russia is a prerequisite for a strategic change in Russian support for Assad. And right now, Putin is unconvinced,” Samantha Vinograd writes for Just Security.