Syrian Opposition to Assad Offers Plan for Peace – Will It Work?

FEATURING ROBIN YASSIN-KASSAB – More than a quarter of a million people have died in Syria since 2011, making it the worst on-going war internationally. Every six months it seems as though the war becomes more complex with shifting allegiances, multiple and overlapping regional and global players entering the arena. Civilians are killed on almost all sides.

Now, a coalition of Syrian forces opposed to President Bashar Al Assad have presented a plan to transition out of the war. According to the BBC, “The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) proposed holding six months of negotiations with …Assad, accompanied by a full ceasefire. Mr Assad would then hand over power to a unity government that would run Syria for 18 months and organize elections.” Assad himself would not step down.

It remains to be seen if this, like past plans, will result in anything positive.

Robin Yassin-Kassab, author with Leila Al Shami, of Burning Country, Syrians in Revolution and War. His earlier book, a novel, is called The Road From Damascus. He has written about Syria in the Guardian, the National, Foreign Policy, the Daily Beast, Newsweek, and al-Jazeera. He is also a co-editor and regular contributor to PULSE.