Syrian opposition proposes security arrangements for transition

GENEVA, March 28 (KUNA) -- The delegation of the Syrian opposition groups to the peace talks raised a package of security arrangements meant to ensure orderly transitional stage in the conflict-ridden country.
The detailed plan has been tabled on Tuesday to the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who expressed a positive attitude to it, the opposition chief negotiator Nasr Al-Hariri told reporters at the UN Office in Geneva.
The meeting with de Mistura also dealt with the problems facing the Syrian refugees and displaced persons, notably the shortage of humanitarian aid, Al-Hariri said.
He urged the UN to shoulder its responsibility in this regard and force the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad into honoring its commitments under the agreement on Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) reached in Astana in late 2016.
Al-Hariri also accused Russia and Iran of failure to honor their undertakings as co-sponsors of the CoH.
The delegation of the high commission for negotiations is addressing not only the political action, but the humanitarian as well, he noted.
He added that the regime's negotiators to the talks have no clear vision for the transitional stage, accusing them of attempting to abort the current round of talks as they did in the last four rounds.
The fifth round of talks started on March 23 and is expected to continue until the end of this month.
In a related development, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced that the regular troops and the armed opposition groups reached an agreement on truce in five areas.
These are Madaya and Al-Zabadani towns in the rural outskirts of Damascus, Al-Yarmouk refugee camp in the southern part of the capital city, and Kefaya and Fu'aj in the northwestern governorate of Idlib, according to a SOHR press release.
The agreement is expected to facilitate the evacuation of civilians and gunmen from Madaya and Zabadani besieged by the regular troops and Kefraya and Fu'ah besieged by the opposition forces. The first of the two stages of the truce deal has already took force and the second will start on April 4, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the state-run SANA news agency said the headmen of 14 towns and villages in the southern governorate of Daraa reached a security agreement with government troops.
The deal, sponsored by representative of the Russian coordination center at Khmeimim airbase, aims to prevent arms displays in, and deny terrorists access to, these areas, it added. (end) ta.gb