Damascus: Israel has reportedly bombed a Syrian base to halt an arms shipment to Hezbollah, while the international Syria envoy said Friday there could be no peace talks without the opposition.
The reported air strike on a military base in regime stronghold Latakia on Wednesday would be the first Israeli strike on Syria since a US-Russian accord on chemical weapons averted punitive US military action last month.
Israel did not comment on the reports that emerged Thursday, but it has struck Syria in the past and warned it will continue to take action to prevent sophisticated weapons from falling into the hands of Hezbollah — a key Damascus ally — and other militant groups.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said Israel had targeted a shipment of surface-to-surface missiles destined for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement fighting alongside the regime.
A US official confirmed to AFP that “there was an Israeli strike” but gave no details on the location or the target.
Syria, which has cooperated with international disarmament efforts, has vowed to retaliate against any attack but did not respond when Israel carried out two air strikes in May.
Hoping to build on the momentum of last month’s US-Russian accord to destroy Syria’s chemical arsenal by mid-2014, UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has meanwhile been criss-crossing the region to rally support for the so-called Geneva II talks.
But Syria’s opposition has refused to attend unless President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation is on the table — a demand rejected by Damascus — and powerful rebel groups have warned that participants would be considered traitors.
“If the opposition does not participate there will be no Geneva conference,” Brahimi told reporters in Damascus before travelling to Beirut.
The veteran Algerian diplomat, who met with Assad on Wednesday, said his government had agreed to take part in the talks and that the opposition was “trying to find a way to be represented”.
The main opposition National Coalition plans to meet November 9 to decide whether to attend the Geneva talks, but key bloc member Syrian National Council threatened to quit if it does so.
On Friday the Coalition criticised the Assad regime for its “lack of courage to respond” to the reported Israeli strikes.
Chemical arms under ‘tamper proof’ seals
“The Assad regime has managed to transform the Syrian army into a tool that kills the people rather than protecting them, and that turns a blind eye against the (Israeli) enemy’s attacks,” it said.
Chemical arms under ‘tamper proof’ seals
The reports of the Israeli strike came as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said all of Syria’s chemical arms were under “tamper proof” seals.
Some 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons “have been placed under seals that are impossible to break,” OPCW spokesman Christian Chartier said Thursday.
The OPCW also said Syria’s chemical arms production equipment had been destroyed.
Inspectors had until Friday to destroy all production and filling equipment in accordance with a timeline laid down by the OPCW and a UN Security Council resolution.
The resolution, stating that the arsenal must be destroyed by mid-2014, followed a US-Russian deal to avert military strikes on Syria after chemical weapons attacks near Damascus in August that killed hundreds of people.
The West blamed those attacks on Assad’s regime, which denied responsibility.
IHS Jane’s, a defence consulting firm, hailed the OPCW “milestone” but cautioned the work was far from over, noting Syria’s entire arsenal was still under regime control.
More than 120,000 people have been killed in the 31-month rebellion against the Assad regime triggered by his bloody crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired democracy protests.
On the battlefield, regime troops battered rebel-held areas of southern Damascus to cut them off from rear bases in the countryside, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The reports come a day after Sfeira in Aleppo province fell from rebel to army hands, after a 27-day siege, activists said.
Aleppo-based Abu Omar told AFP Sfeira fell “because there has been no support for the rebels on that front”.
Sfeira is strategic because it is on the route to Aleppo, Syria’s second city, and because chemical and other heavy weapon stockpiles are kept in defence factories there.
Dear TNT Reader,
At The News Tribe, our mission is to bring you free, independent, and unbiased news and content that keeps you informed and empowered. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism, as we understand that we are a platform for truth.
Apart from independent global news coverage, we also commit our unique focus on the Muslim world. In an age marked by the troubling rise of Islamophobia and widespread misrepresentation of Muslims in Western media, we strive to provide accurate and fair coverage.
But to continue doing so, we need your support. Even a small donation of 1$ can make a big difference. Your contribution will help us maintain the quality of our news and counteract the negative narratives that are so prevalent.
Please consider donating today to ensure we can keep delivering the news that matters. Together, we can make a positive impact on the world, and work towards a more inclusive, informed global society.
Donate Monthly Subscription Annual Subscription