'Syrian talks unlikely to succeed if government doesn't win on the ground': TASS
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this afternoon that she was "appalled" at the suffering of Syrian civilians amid a government offensive in Aleppo backed by heavy Russian air strikes, TASS published a remarkable indirect response to criticisms of Russia's actions in Syria.
TASS cited Russian experts as saying that the Syria peace talks in Geneva will not succeed -- unless government troops win on the ground.
The inter-Syrian talks, which are resuming in Geneva on February 25, are unlikely to succeed if the Syrian army does not win on the ground, Russian experts told a roundtable meeting (the Unsuccessful Start of the Syria Peace Talks: Possible Consequences) held on Monday.
The TASS piece has the effect of putting a fascinating spin on criticisms that Russian-backed air strikes in Syria have led to the collapse of fragile peace talks and are exacerbating an already disastrous humanitarian situation in Syria.
Last week, Western leaders and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon blamed the collapse of the peace talks on devastating Russian air raids in Syria. UN chief Ban said that an immediate cease fire was needed in order for the diplomatic process to have any chance of succeeding.
While Russia said it backed the peace talks -- even going so far as to say that it supported the inclusion of two hard-line Islamist groups, Ahrar al-Sham and the Islam Army, in the talks -- its actions in Syria appear to belie that position.
The Russian experts quoted by TASS appear to articulate something closer to Russia's real policy in Syria.
Vladimir Yevseyev of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization department at the Institute of CIS Studies said that peace talks would succeed when the Syrian army succeeded on the ground.
"Victory on the ground, which I believe will occur in the next few months, is necessary to ensure the success of the inter-Syrian talks in Geneva," Yevseyev said.
The talks would not succeed if they restarted on Feb. 25, Yevseyev added, because -- simply -- government forces would not have gained a convincing victory by that time.
"That is why I do not believe that a compromise is possible on February 25 because so far there are no conditions for the Syrian national army to gain a convincing victory," Yevseyev said.
A second expert, Amur Gadzhiyev of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies, said that the Syrian opposition had backed out of the Geneva talks because the Syrian army had gained ground, in particular by cutting off main supply routes for militants in Aleppo province.
"The Syrian opposition, which fears that the retreat on the front might result in significant concessions at the talks, decided for itself [an on advice from international sponsors] that it was not the best time to continue the talks. This, in my view, is one of the main reasons for the abortive start of the Geneva negotiations," Gadzhiyev said.
ICRC tweets map of water points in Aleppo after water cut
Pawel Krzysiek of the Red Cross has tweeted this map showing the locations of boreholes in Aleppo after water supplies in the city were cut off again.
UN report: Syrian government, some rebels, IS committed crimes against detainees
A report by the United Nations released today has said that "massive and systemized violence" by the Syrian government and by some anti-government armed groups and by IS has taken place "far from the battlefield."
In the case of the government, detainees have been beaten to death or died from injuries sustained due to torture, the report finds.
The Government has committed the crimes against humanity of extermination, murder, rape or other forms of sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforced disappearance and other inhuman acts. Based on the same conduct, war crimes have also been committed.
The report also found that armed rebel groups have also committed violence against detainees including against government soldiers.
Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate, the Al-Nusra Front has "set up detention facilities in Idlib where deaths in detention were documented," the report says.
Nusra has also conducted mass execution-style killings of captured government soldiers and it and other armed groups have "committed the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment and torture."
The IS group also subjected its detainees to torture and summary execution, with detainees often executed after unauthorized courts issued death sentences, according to the report. IS has committed the crimes against humanity of murder and torture as well as war crimes, the UN investigators found.
Syrian army takes control of Kafeen village in Aleppo province: state media
Syrian state news agency SANA is reporting this afternoon that pro-government forces have taken full control of Kafeen village in northern Aleppo province.
Click here to see the location of Kafeen on Google maps.
The village is just northeast of the two Shi'ite villages of Nubl and Zahraa, which had been besieged for years by rebels -- including Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, the Al-Nusra Front -- until pro-government forces broke the siege last week, backed by heavy Russian air strikes and Iranian-backed militias.
Merkel 'appalled' by suffering in Syria due to Russian bombing
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is appalled by the suffering of civilians in Syria who are fleeing the Aleppo area amid a government offensive backed by heavy Russian air strikes, Reuters reports.
"We are now, over the last few days, not only appalled but also shocked by the human suffering of tens of thousands of people through bombing attacks, and also bombing attacks originating from the Russian side," Merkel said in Ankara.
From our news desk:
Russian TV To Broadcast Documentary On Chechen Forces In Syria
Russian state television is to broadcast a documentary this week alleging that Chechen forces loyal to the Kremlin are on the ground in Syria.
A teaser for the documentary to be broadcast on Rossiya 1 on February 10 quotes Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov as saying Chechen agents are gathering military intelligence inside Islamic State-controlled territory and have also infiltrated the ranks of the group.
It showed a training camp in Chechnya, where it said soldiers now active in Syria had been trained.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm the presence of Chechen forces in Syria.
Russia launched air strikes in Syria on September 30 and has set up a military base to complement an existing naval facility. It has deployed infantry, armor, and the advanced S-400 antiaircraft system there to protect its assets, and has military trainers and advisers working with the Syrian military.
Based on reporting by Reuters, novayagazeta.ru, and TASS
Russia supplies Syria with some arms for free: Ambassador
Russia is supplying Syria with arms on a "favorable basis" including free of charge, the Russian ambassador in Damascus, Alexander Kinshchak, has told Interfax.
"Given the fact that the financial capacities of Damascus have greatly diminished in the conditions of a war of attrition unleashed by terrorists, the general degradation of the economy and Western sanctions, part of the supply is free of charge or on favorable terms," Kinshchak said.
Kinshchak added that some of the arms and ammunition is being supplied on a commercial basis. Various mechanisms are being used for the favorable terms.
Backed by Russia, Syria army advances towards Turkey border
The Syrian army has advanced toward the Turkish border today in a major offensive backed by Russian air strikes and Iran-backed militias, with government forces now just three miles from the rebel-held town of Tal Rafaat, Reuters is reporting.
Reuters spoke to rebels who say that their existence is now threatened.
"Our whole existence is now threatened, not just losing more ground," said Abdul Rahim al-Najdawi from Liwa al-Tawheed, an insurgent group.
"They are advancing and we are pulling back because in the face of such heavy aerial bombing we must minimize our losses."
Iraq deploying thousands of troops to retake IS-held Mosul: AFP
The Iraqi army is deploying thousands of soldiers to a northern base in preparation for operations to retake the Islamic State group's hub of Mosul, officials have said, according to AFP.
The IS group captured Mosul in June 2014 and has held the city largely unopposed since then.
"Units from the Iraqi army have begun arriving to a military base near the Makhmur district to start launching initial military operations toward Mosul," a staff brigadier general told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"There are three brigades located in that base now," and their number will eventually reach 4,500 soldiers, the officer said, adding that troops from the 15th and 16th division will take part in operations to retake Mosul.
Kadyrov says Chechen special forces operating 'against IS' in Syria
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has said that Chechen special forces are operating in Syria, Meduza reports.
Kadyrov's comments were broadcast on Feb. 7 on the Rossiya-1 television channel as a preview of a Feb. 10 airing of a documentary by Russian journalist Alexander Rogatkin, according to Meduza.
The head of the Chechen Republic said that he had managed to create a network of agents inside the IS group.
"The best fighters from the Republic were sent there. They are gathering intelligence about the structure, number of terrorists, they are defining targets for bombing and recording their results," Kadyrov said.