Syria peace process in jeopardy as talks flounder

Syrian man carries wounded child following air strike attack on Aleppo Syria's warring sides are due to meet on Saturday in Geneva in a last-ditch effort to save deadlocked peace talks as fears grow the entire process could collapse. UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will hold a final meeting with both sides as the second round of the UN-brokered peace talks wraps up with the rivals further apart than ever.
They appeared to only agree on one thing: that the negotiations were going nowhere.
"We deeply regret that this round did not make any progress," said Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, after meeting Brahimi on Friday.
Separately, opposition spokesman Louay Safi complained about the regime's failure to budge, acknowledging that "the negotiations have reached an impasse."
As the parties in Geneva failed to agree even on an agenda for their talks, the bodies piled up in Syria.
A monitoring group said Thursday that more than 5,000 people had been killed since a first round of talks began on January 22.
At least 47 people were killed Friday in a car bombing in front of the mosque in the southern rebel-held village of Yaduda, while the extremist ISIL group executed 27 people as rival rebels chased it from villages in the northern province of Aleppo.
The United Nations warned that more than 2,700 refugees had poured across the Lebanese border as the Syrian army carries out an offensive in the Qalamun mountains and heads towards the opposition-held town of Yabrud.
Thousands had already fled the town, but as many as 50,000 people were believed to still be inside.
Washington expressed outrage at the aerial bombings and siege of the city.
"We again call on all members of the international community, including Assad's allies, to make clear to the regime that it must immediately cease these unwarranted attacks that undermine the Geneva process and the prospects of peace in Syria," State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said.
- 'No sense' -
In Geneva, there was no sign of progress towards ending the three-year civil war that has killed more than 136,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes.
It was unclear if Brahimi could convince the warring sides to come back for a third round of talks.
Washington, which backs the opposition and initiated the so-called Geneva II talks with regime ally Russia, voiced deep frustration Friday at the stalemate.
"Talks for show make no sense," a senior US official said Friday.
In an effort to inject life into the talks, both the United States and Russia sent top envoys to Geneva this week to meet Brahimi and the two sides.
But after a meeting with high-ranking US and Russian diplomats Thursday, the veteran peacemaker admitted that "failure is still staring us in the face".
Washington blamed the impasse squarely on the Syrian regime, and chastised Moscow for not doing enough to push its ally to engage "seriously" in the process.
Regime representatives have so far refused to discuss anything beyond the "terrorism" it blames on its opponents and their foreign backers, and stubbornly insist President Bashar al-Assad's position is non-negotiable.
They have declined to discuss the opposition coalition's 24-point proposal for a political transition, or to consider Brahimi's suggestion that the parties discuss the two issues in parallel.
As one of the initiators of the talks, "Russia took on the responsibility of encouraging the regime to do what is necessary here," the US official said.
- 'We are in a dead end' -
Observers said the talks were hanging in the balance.
"We are in a dead end," said a Western diplomat, warning prospects looked "grim" and that it would be tough for Brahimi to organise a third round.
Spokesman Safi said the opposition was appealing to the international community to "make a difference to push this process forward" but that a "pause" looked likely in the meantime.
Algerian veteran peacemaker Brahimi, who helped broker past deals in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq, has pledged not to "leave one stone unturned if there is a possibility to move forward".
But the Western diplomat cautioned: "I would not assume he will stay indefinitely," saying Brahimi might have "concerns about his own credibility" if he allows the process to continue like a broken record.
The ongoing evacuation of civilians from besieged rebel-held areas of Homs -- seen as the only tangible result so far of the Geneva II talks -- has been hailed as a relative success.
But UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos expressed frustration at the "extremely limited and painstakingly slow" process of getting 1,400 people out, given that 250,000 are under siege across Syria.
Syria's deputy foreign minister Muqdad had sharp words for Amos, accusing her of an "unacceptable" failure to recognise there was "terrorism" in Syria and that it hindered aid operations.
The United Nations said Friday 381 male evacuees from Homs -- 14 of them boys aged under 18 -- were still in regime hands as part of its "vetting" process.
The regime has said it was essential to interrogate men in order to weed out "terrorists", but the opposition said separating the men from women and children was ominous.
Source: AFP