The United States yesterday demanded that Syria allow aid into the “starving” city of Homs, as talks aimed at ending three years of civil war hit more trouble over the future of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian government said women and children could leave the besieged city and that rebels should hand over the names of the men who would remain. A US State Department spokesman said an evacuation was not an alternative to immediate aid.
The situation is desperate
“We firmly believe that the Syrian regime must approve the convoys to deliver badly needed humanitarian assistance into the Old City of Homs now,” said spokesman Edgar Vasquez. “The situation is desperate and the people are starving.”
He said the people of Homs must not be forced to leave their homes and split up their families before receiving aid.
After long months of fighting, much of Syria’s third biggest city has been reduced to rubble and people inside are under siege, cut off from supplies.
The city’s fate has turned into a test of whether the first peace talks attended by both sides in the three-year war can achieve practical measures on the ground, while a broader political settlement seems as remote as ever.
The UN mediator said he hoped yesterday’s talks in Geneva could cover the central issue that divides the two sides – Syria’s political future and that of Assad – but both sides immediately adopted entrenched positions.
“Once again, I tell you we never expected any miracle, there are no miracles here. But we will continue and see if progress can be make and when,” UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said.
Syria’s government delegation presented a document for negotiation which did not mention a transition of power, Syrian television said.
The government’s “declaration of basic principles” said Syrians would choose a political system without “imposed formulas” from abroad, an apparent reference to Western and regional demands that Assad step down.
The Opposition, which wants Assad to quit as part of arrangements for a transitional government, immediately rejected the proposal. “The declaration is outside the framework of Geneva, which centres on creating a transitional governing body. It fails to address the core issue,” the opposition’s chief negotiator, Hadi al Bahra, said.
Homs, occupying a strategic location in the centre of the country, has been a key battleground. Assad’s forces retook many of the surrounding areas last year, leaving rebels under siege in the city centre, along with thousands of civilians.
Children play in the rubble that litters the streets. The city’s buildings are smashed and its mosques are holed by shell fire. In one deserted souk, debris lies in the aisles and the roof is shredded with bullet holes.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told a news conference on Sunday night the government would let women and children leave the city centre if rebels gave them safe passage.
UN mediator Brahimi said he understood they would be free to quit Homs immediately.