Jaysh al-Islam to Asharq Al-Awsat: Political solution compromised, after Russians Killed Alloush
United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced the third Geneva peace convention would be held Jan. 25, after the assassination of Zahran Alloush, leader of Jaysh al-Islam, which urged international efforts to move to end the five-year Syrian civil war. Alloush was killed by an airstrike launched on Friday near Damascus.

Moreover, Mohammad Alloush member of the political office belonging to Jaysh al-Islam said that the Russian targeting of the moderate Syrian Opposition has contributed in stalling a political resolution. He also added in a statement made to Asharq Al-Awsat the UN envoy’s invitation to start the peace talks does not coincide with the late Russian military escalation, and it is considered to delude the agreement achieved at Riyadh’s Syrian Opposition conference.

Detail observers perceive the dealt information on assassinating Iranian leaders fighting in Syria, then the assassination of Hezbollah’s commander Samir Kuntar followed by the assassination of Jaysh al-Islam’s leaders developments signaling the up-close of a settlement date after unprecedented field escalations took place.

However western diplomatic sources have told DPA (German Press Agency) “The upcoming period in Syria will witness assassinations of many leaders of both the Opposition and the regime.”

The Syrian opposition forces do not seem overly enthusiastic about going back to negotiations, after the unprecedented Russian field escalation in Syria which took the situation to a whole new level by assassinating Alloush.

Riad Hijab, selected “chief coordinator” of the anti-Assad coalition in Riyadh, in a message to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon questioned the feasibility of the negotiations and political solution, given that Russian air force is stepping up the level of its attacks on civilians and targeting represented forces in the Riyadh conference, killing and demolishing their environment.

What is more was Jaysh al-Islam’s first response to Alloush’s assassination by destroying the main electric power station in Damascus with several missiles, pounding it down to rubble.

Not to mention that Alloush’s death also caused the agreement established between Assad’s regime and ISIS for terrorist militants to exit the southern Damascus suburbs to fall apart.