Russian, US diplomats to hold meeting on Syria in Geneva
US-led coalition conducted 13 airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and five in Syria on Sunday, as per media report. Six of the strikes in Iraq were near the contested city of Ramadi. Three tactical units, five staging areas, two rocket rails, two fighting positions and a weapons cache were hit, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Monday. There were three strikes near Mosul, two near Qayyarah, one near Kirkuk and one at Sinjar. In Syria, three strikes near Manbij hit a tactical unit and destroyed a mortar system, two fighting positions and two buildings. Strikes also hit near al Hawl and Dayr Az Zawr. Ramadi was also a prime target on Saturday, when seven strikes were conducted, according to the military.
Russian and US diplomats will hold a bilateral meeting in Geneva on Monday evening on the Syrian political crisis, according to Paul Patin, public affairs officer at the US Mission in Geneva. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov is expected to stay in Geneva till February 4. Moscow hopes that meetings in Geneva will allow the launching of a political process in Syria, he told TASS on Monday. A Russian team will also meet UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson and Chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party Saleh Muslim. A trilateral Russia-US-UN meeting and talks with the head of the Syrian government delegation, Bashar Jaafari, are scheduled for February 2. The meeting between de Mistura and the Syrian government delegation has been postponed.
EU is set to promise some €2 billion ($2.2 billion) in Syrian refugee aid at an international donor conference Thursday, media reported. Britain, Germany and Norway are hosting the conference in London along with the UN and Kuwait, to double humanitarian aid to the region. UN agencies are appealing for a total of $7.73 billion to cope with Syria’s needs this year. A further $1.2 billion is required by regional governments for their own plans to deal with the impact of the Syrian conflict. Media agencies
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