Abdul Halim Khaddam, former Deputy to the Syrian President, expressed doubt about the success of the United Nations initiative regarding the ceasefire in Aleppo between the regime and the opposition, stating that “the regime of Bashar al-Assad has destroyed the Syrian state.”
Khaddam added, in a statement to the Jordanian electronic newspaper “Al-Maqar,” on Wednesday, “The Syrian territory has become a breeding ground for terrorism after the international community delayed in saving the Syrian people at the beginning of the peaceful revolution”… noting that the UN initiative coincided with Western negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program.
President Bashar al-Assad had affirmed on Monday, after meeting with the international envoy, Staffan de Mistura, his country’s readiness to study the initiative proposed by the latter, which relates to a “freeze” of the fighting in Aleppo.
It is worth mentioning that armed opposition fighters and Syrian army forces have shared control of Aleppo since July 2012, while regime aircraft have been conducting an organized aerial bombing campaign on opposition-controlled neighborhoods using barrel bombs since the end of 2013, resulting in hundreds of casualties. In recent months, opposition groups have lost several positions in Aleppo and its surroundings.
