The Coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) of the Syrian Opposition Riyad Farid Hijab announced yesterday that his delegation has decided to leave the talks that are taking place in Geneva and that this is their “final decision”.

Hijab attributed this position to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation during the ceasefire and the fact that Bashar Al-Assad’s regime continues to commit crimes.

Hijab also called on the opposition to continue with armed action and said “the opposition will continue to fight in whatever circumstances and we will not give up”.

In the meantime, the spokesman for the White House Josh Ernest said yesterday that the Syrian opposition’s frustration is understandable considering the Syrian regime’s repeated violations of the cessation of hostilities, and its insistence on preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid. He added that Washington “will continue to push the two sides to continue negotiating”.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 44 civilians were killed and dozens were wounded in an air bombing carried out by the regime that targeted the city of Ma’arrat Al-Numan and the town Kafr Nabl in the southern countryside of Idlib, north western Syria.