The reopening of dialogue between Syrian regime and opposition has started this Monday with a thud. The capture of the town of Maan, in the central province of Hama, has left up to 75 dead Alawites, 42 of them civilians at the hands of radical fighters, as denounced by the Syrian Army, calling the act of " slaughter " sectarian dyes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization with informants across the country, has just reported the death of 25 militants during the offensive scheme led by fighters from Jund al Aqsa brigade linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, for its acronym in English, a division of Al Qaeda).
"At least 42 women, children and elderly have been killed in a horrible slaughter committed by terrorists Jabhat Al Nusra (sic) " collects agency SANA, the official organ of the government of Bashar al-Assad. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Luay Safi, a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition (CNS), has denied the trail of victims and accused the regime of loading deaths opposition.
The only evidence of decision- Maan, enclave of mostly Alawite (the branch of Islam to which the Assad clan belongs) near the highway linking Damascus with Aleppo, is a video allegedly released by the militants of Jund al Aqsa through social networks. Shows how many fighters drive a tank through the empty streets of the city and trample a photo of President Assad. Just seen a dead body, that of an adult in military uniform.
The emergence of jihadi groups as Jabhat to Nusra (affiliated to Al Qaeda) or ISI- S in the Syrian war has led to a new twist in a dispute that is headed for its third year and has left more than 130,000 dead and six million internally and externally displaced. The entrenchment of violence has led to a sectarian fighting between rebels (mostly Sunni) and Alawites and Shiites (many supporters of Asad). From the death of more than 40 civilians executed by radical confirmed, the killing of Maan constitute one of the worst acts revanchist since the uprising against the regime, along with the events of Banias and Bayda, two populations of Sunni majority in the Alawite stronghold Latakia, on the coast, where 150 people died in two days.
Accusations of ethnic cleansing have grabbed this Monday the resumption of negotiations in Geneva. The Syrian Foreign Ministry, headed the delegation of the regime, has sent a letter to UN Secretary Ban Ki -moon and the Security Council in which requires the reporting of the killing of Maan in requiring " severe and urgent orders the slaughter committed in Maan ".
"This new slaughter is further evidence that these terrorists (naming the scheme applies to all rebels) and their supporters insist spilling Syrian blood and completely despise every effort to reach a credible political process," SANA quote. From Switzerland, the Information Minister to Omram Zoubi has urged the delegation of the Coalition Forces of the Opposition and the Syrian Revolution (CFORS) to condemn the killing and accused them of keeping " terms and positions characterized by immaturity policy. "
This same weekend, on the eve of resuming talks under the mediation of special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, the two sides were locked in mutual accusations of breaking the ceasefire in Homs, agreed to allow the evacuation of up to 2,500 civilians trapped in the old city for more than a year.
Tags: AL, Alawites, claims, Qaeda, regime, slaughter, Syrian