'Frozen zones' plan in spotlight in Syria
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E-mail Xinhua, December 18, 2014
A Syrian political opposition party says the plan of the "frozen zones" in Aleppo must be coupled with a political solution and expand to cover other Syrian cities.
"The plan put forward by the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura must be coupled with a political solution and expand to cover areas in southern and central Syria," Safwan Akkasheh, a leading member of the oppositional National Coordination Body (NCB) told Xinhua Wednesday.
He said his group met earlier in the day with the visiting Ramzi Ezz el-Deen, deputy of de Mistura, who flew in last Saturday for meeting with Syrian officials and opposition forces as well on de Mistura's plan.
The special envoy proposed a plan for freezing the battles between the government troops and the rebels in Aleppo to be a prelude for a broader pacification across the war-torn country.
The Syrian government said the plan was "worth studying" but government officials told Xinhua that they were waiting for more details about the plan by Mistura, who is garnering regional and international support to his plan, which is basically still a series of ideas.
Meanwhile, Akkasheh said the NCB discussed Mistura's plan in details, adding that his group, the largest domestically-based opposition group, backs any step that could alleviate the suffering and end the destruction.
The opposition figure expressed concerns that the plan, if remained limited to Aleppo, could push the key Syrian province on borders with Turkey to become an autonomous area. He stressed that this idea is of a great concern to the majority of the political forces in Syria.
Akkasheh said his group also agrees on the presence of international observers to monitor the Aleppo frozen battles, if the cessation of violence was ever accepted by the warring sides.
The Syrian troops have recently been racing against time to consolidate their positions in Aleppo and further tighten the siege on various rebel and extremist groups in rebel-held areas in Aleppo while the plan is being discussed.
Local media and activists said the Syrian troops are advancing on the northeastern part of Aleppo and inching closer to lay a siege on the rebel-held areas and isolate them from key supply lines from neighboring Turkey.
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