Al-Arabi, Ibrahimi meet, discuss Syrian crisis

On the eve of the extraordinary meeting expected to be held by the Arab League council on Monday and which will be discussing the humanitarian report issued by the League’s mission in order to meet the humanitarian needs of the Syrian refugees, the Syrian crisis was the main item during the discussions held between the Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi and the international peace envoy Lakhdar Ibrahimi who tackled the efforts deployed to end the Syrian war.             

In this context, Anatolia news agency reported that both officials discussed the possibility of setting up a meeting between the head of the Syrian National Coalition Maaz al-Khatib and the Syrian deputy president Farouq al-Charaa.            

International positions:          

The permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin told Russia Today TV channel that Washington’s refusal to supply the Syrian opposition with arms does not exempt it from its responsibility towards the events taking place in Syria.            

On the ground:                    

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground remained the same where the regions of Reef Damascus, mainly Daraya, witnessed bombardment with heavy artillery and rocket launchers, according to activists.                

From its part, the Syrian State Television declared that a series of operations targeted gatherings and nests of terrorists in a number of towns in Reef Idlib.          

Activists said that Syrian troops and opposition forces are battling for control of a key highway outside Damascus.            

A rebel fighter told The Associated Press that opposition forces on Sunday overran al-Adnan checkpoint in Jobar, northeast of Damascus.            

The Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights says that while the fight for the highway continues, government troops regained control of the area on Saturday after using fighter jets to bomb rebel positions.


AP/LBCI