Egypt to broker future ceasefire in war-stricken areas in Syria: Jarba

CAIRO – 5 August 2017: Egypt will sponsor a future ceasefire in war-stricken areas in northern Syria due to Cairo's “positive role in the region”, said Syria’s “Al-Ghad” (Tomorrow) opposition movement chairperson Ahmed Jarba in a press conference in Cairo on Saturday.

“Egypt’s brokerage is essential,” he added, praising the Egyptian role in reaching ceasefire in el-Ghouta region in Damascus, which has been announced on July 23.

Jarba held a press conference in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the current developments in Syria, following the Egypt-Russia brokered cease-fire affecting some cities in Northern Syria.

He mentioned three reasons behind choosing Egypt as a sponsor of Syrian ceasefire agreements. “First, Egypt has not been involved in any conflict with Syrian parties, which are main factors in the ceasefire agreements; and it has not backed any armed Syrian faction. Second, Egypt has good relations with Russia (co-sponsor of the ceasefire). Third, Egypt’s role confined to only mediation,” he said.

“We previously had reservations over the Arab 's complete absence from the Syrian negotiations that have been hosted by Astana. So Egypt’s role in the negotiation on Ghouta and Homs ceasefires was essential,” Jarba said in the conference.

On July 23, the first cease-fire was announced in Ghouta region in Damascus, while the second de-escalation deal was announced in an area in northern Homs countryside on August 3. Jarba said all Syrian armed opposition and governmental parts welcomed the ceasefire agreements. However, he accused al-Rahman Corps, an Islamist Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, of violating the ceasefire in Homs and Eastern Ghouta.

Syria's Tomorrow opposition movement was founded in March 2016 by Syrian National Council member Ahmad Jarba. Recently, Syria's Tomorrow opposition movement signed a ceasefire agreement in eastern Ghouta with the Syrian regime.

The Syrian political situation has been deteriorating since the protests that emerged with the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, when the opposition created the ‘Free Syrian Army’ to face Assad’s forces. The situation worsened when the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group interfered in the country in 2014.

About 470,000 people had been killed since the beginning of the war as of February 2016, according to latest data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Some 1.6 million Syrian have been domestically displaced, while the number of refugees reached 4.8 million people, the data added.