A/HRC/42/51 15. In late April, the wave of clashes and aerial bombardments throughout the demilitarized zone reached its peak. Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted the positions of the Levant Liberation Organization and affiliated armed groups in the countryside surrounding Idlib and Hama, while the Levant Liberation Organization and Hurras al-Din4 stepped up retaliatory attacks against government positions in Aleppo Governorate and the Humaymim Air Base (Ladhiqiyah). Early May witnessed the largest bombing campaign in the area in 15 months. The aerial campaign also enabled the Syrian army to advance in the south-western edge of the Idlib demilitarized zone, towards the strategic towns of Kafr Nabudah, Qalʻat al-Madiq and Huwayz. The Syrian army’s advance slowed down on 26 May, when it took control of the disputed town of Kafr Nabudah. Meanwhile, air strikes targeting the towns of Kafr Nabudah, Khan Shaykhun, Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘man, Jisr al-Shughur and Saraqib persisted. Air strikes and ground shelling on villages and towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib damaged or destroyed critical civilian infrastructure. The military campaign of the pro-government forces against the Levant Liberation Organization and others continued throughout the reporting period. 16. Conflict dynamics in Afrin (Aleppo) also intensified in terms of armed violence and attacks against civilians. The so-called Syrian National Army consolidated its armed presence in the region, and established a formal security framework, with operation and coordination centres. In parallel, Kurdish insurgent groups, linked to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, such as Ghadab al-Zaytun and Afrin Liberation Forces, have engaged in asymmetric warfare against factions operating under the Syrian National Army. 17. Politically, tensions between the United States and Turkey continued over the former’s support for SDF. In January, both countries began negotiations concerning Washington’s proposal to establish a “safe zone” in flashpoint border areas in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic. The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced that his country had the right to create the proposed “safe zone” under the Adana Agreement signed between it and the Syrian Arab Republic in 1998. 5 The Russian Federation supported the announcement, while the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic claimed that reviving the deal depended on Ankara ending its backing of armed opposition actors and withdrawing its troops from the north-west of the Syrian Arab Republic. 18. In the south of the Syrian Arab Republic, discontent among residents has grown. Since the Government re-established its authority throughout the south of the country, secret police have launched a campaign of arrests targeting former opposition figures, which has sowed widespread fear. In Dar‘a Governorate, tensions peaked in March when a new statue of former President Hafez al-Assad was erected. The protests spread to Tafas, triggering the deployment of additional Syrian army units to the area. In June, insecurity was accentuated after a rise in killings of former Free Syrian Army fighters and government soldiers, in addition to continuing protests against security forces. 19. On the political front, the new Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria conducted his first trip to Damascus on 15 January, where he met the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Walid al-Muallem, who expressed the Government’s readiness to cooperate with the Special Envoy. On 28 February, the Special Envoy held his first Security Council briefing outlining the five goals for his engagement with Syrian, regional and international actors. 6 Despite the Special Envoy’s diplomatic 4 5 6 Hurras al-Din is an armed insurgent group allied with Al-Qaida. The Adana Agreement, signed on 20 October 1998, invites the Syrian authorities to fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party on Syrian territory, and gives Turkey the right to intervene militarily in the Syrian Arab Republic. The five goals for the Special Envoy’s engagement with Syrian and regional actors consist of: (a) beginning and deepening a sustained dialogue with the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the opposition on building trust and confidence towards a safe, calm and neutral environment; (b) seeing more concrete action on detainees, abductees and missing persons through engagement with the Astana guarantors, Syrian parties and all concerned; (c) engaging a wide range of Syrians moving forward and involving them in the process; (d) convening a credible, balanced and inclusive constitutional committee as soon as possible; and (e) helping the international parties deepen their 5