SYRIA/TURKEY: Opposition Syrian National Council accuses Bashar al-Assad's Syrian administration of breaking ceasefire

Record ID: 281542

  • Title: SYRIA/TURKEY: Opposition Syrian National Council accuses Bashar al-Assad's Syrian administration of breaking ceasefire
  • Date: 28th October 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL, ADIB SHISHAKLY, SAYING: "The Syrian regime claimed that it would be committed to a ceasefire with the beginning of the Eid. Totally as expected this did not happen, as we registered more than 292 breaking the ceasefire agreement or so called agreement. More than 111 areas in Syria were bombed. (There are) 116 martyrs
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Syrian Arab Republic
  • City:
  • Country: Turkey Syrian Arab Republic
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA8GPQ4S9O605P46D9LRS4USFFP
  • Story Text: A member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) on Sunday (October 28) accused the embattled President Bashar al-Assad of violating a conditional ceasefire intended to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
    "The Syrian regime claimed that it would be committed to a ceasefire with the beginning of the Eid. Totally as expected this did not happen," Adib Shishakly, a member of the SNC told Reuters.
    "As we registered more than 292 breaking the ceasefire agreement or so called agreement. More than 111 areas in Syria were bombed. (There are) 116 martyrs and over 120 wounded," he added.
    Forces loyal to President Assad renewed their bombardment of major cities on Saturday (October 27) and rebels launched several attacks, further undermining a truce meant bring relief to civilians in embattled areas.
    The violence, reported by residents, opposition supporters and Syria's government, came on the second day of the ceasefire called by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who had hoped to use it to build momentum to end the 19-month-old conflict in which an estimated 32,000 people have been killed.
    Shishakly who returned from Syria early on Sunday said the humanitarian crisis in the country was deepening.
    "The situation in Syria is very bad. Especially in the liberated areas. The regime left the people in Syria without any electricity, without any heating oil, without any water. It's very bad, even though it is liberated. I saw people celebrating Eid, celebrating their freedom despite all the hardship they are in," he said.
    Violence had initially appeared to wane in some areas on Friday (October 26) but truce breaches by both sides swiftly marred Syrians' hopes of celebrating Eid al-Adha, the climax of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, in peace.
    Brahimi's ceasefire appeal had won widespread international support, including from Russia, China and Iran, President Assad's main foreign allies.
    The war in Syria pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against Assad, from the minority Alawite sect which is distantly related to Shi'ite Islam. Brahimi has warned that the conflict could suck in Sunni and Shi'ite powers across the Middle East.
    Brahimi's predecessor, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, declared a ceasefire in Syria on April 12, but it soon became a dead letter, along with the rest of his six-point peace plan.
    ENDS
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