Syria's peace talks and partial ceasefire are both breaking down

HOW long is a piece of string' That is about as good an answer as there is to the question of when the partial 'cessation of hostilities' in Syria will be deemed to have been broken. The fighting has abated to a surprising and welcome degree since the ceasefire came into force on February 27th; but violations are now on the increase. A recent uptick in violence, especially around Aleppo, suggests that a new crisis has begun.Since the first week in April the Damascus-based regime of Bashar al-Assad has been bombing areas south of the city. They have got away with this in part because the opposition there is dominated by Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, one of the terrorist groups exempted from the ceasefire, along with Islamic State (IS). But recent air strikes have also hit civilian areas. Over the weekend the government carried out at least four in the city. A raft of air strikes further south in Homs killed four people.Opposition violence has risen too. On April 18th a group of rebels announced a new offensive in response, it said, to government attacks. That was followed by reports of rebel assaults in Latakia...Continue reading
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