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UN backs Syria peace effort

August 18, 2015

The UN Security Council has backed a new push for peace talks, as the death toll from an airstrike on a Syrian suburb reached nearly 100. A statement approved by members urged a political transition to end the conflict.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GGwz
Syrien Rebellen fahren auf einem Motorrad nahe der Al-Shaar Brücke
Image: Reuters/A. Ismail

The political statement issued by the Security Council on Monday was the first to be agreed by its members in two years.

It came hours after UN officials expressed shock at a Syrian government air attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma. The air raid on Sunday killed at least 96 people and wounded 240, according to the latest figures from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack - the latest in a series of government air raids around Damascus - was condemned hours ahead of the UN resolution by Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy for Syria, who put forward the text.

"Hitting crowded civilian markets [and] killing almost 100 of its own citizens by a government is unacceptable in any circumstances," said de Mistura. The UN also condemned the shelling by rebels of government-held central Damascus and the cutting off of water supplies to the capital.

'A Syrian-led process'

The plan put forward by de Mistura and endorsed by the Security Council is aimed at solving the crisis by setting up "intra-Syria working groups." It is the first statement to deal solely with the political process in Syria, calling for topics to be addressed "through more focused consultations and discussions with the Syrian parties in four thematic working groups."

The statement, which is non-binding, also urges all parties to work for "a Syrian-led political process leading to a political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."

The newfound unity was hailed by Alexis Lamek, France's deputy ambassador to the UN, as "historic," being a rare instance of agreement between Russia and the United States. Both nations are among the five permanent Security Council members, which are able to veto proposals by the other.

However, non-permanent Security Council member Venezuela - which still maintains friendly relations with the Syrian government - disassociated itself from the statement, claiming it set a "very dangerous precedent." Caracas maintains the plan violates Syrian self-determination.

rc/cmk (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)