Monday, January 02, 2017

Question: When is a Ceasefire Not a Ceasefire?

Answer: When the Russians want to get some of Assad's enemies out of the war temporarily while Assad's forces (and the forces of their allies) focus limited offensive ground forces on one part of the rebel constellation of forces:

Syria's army advanced Monday as it battles to capture a rebel region that is key to the capital's water supply, launching strikes and artillery fire threatening a fragile nationwide truce.

Brokered by regime ally Russia and opposition supporter Turkey, the ceasefire is now in its fourth day despite sporadic violence and continued fighting in the Wadi Barada area near Damascus.

"Regime forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group are advancing in the region and are now on the outskirts of Ain al-Fijeh, the primary water source in the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

Wait. You didn't think that this Russian-brokered ceasefire reflected a genuine and humanitarian impulse to end the war rather than just another means to win the war, did you?

How adorable.