Hope in sight of end to Syria war: UN investigators

UN investigators on Tuesday welcomed a "significant decrease" in Syrian violence on the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict, saying they finally glimpsed hope of an end to the war.

Paulo Pinheiro, chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, holds a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Now, for the first time, there is hope of an end in sight," Paulo Pinheiro, head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told reporters in Geneva. Earlier, in remarks to the UN Human Rights Council, he hailed the partial ceasefire that has largely held since February 27, saying it had finally allowed many in the country to experience "a return to normalcy in their daily lives".


"There are, at last, glimpses of a Syria at peace," Pinheiro said, adding that the truce had created the conditions needed to move forward with the new round of peace talks that kicked off in Geneva on Monday.

The temporary ceasefire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces and opponents does not cover the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front jihadist groups. "We call on the parties to the cessation of hostilities agreement to discontinue all remaining military operations, even those on low-scale," Pinheiro said.

His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered most of his forces out of Syria in a move hailed as "significant" by the UN's mediator in the talks, Staffan de Mistura.

Pinheiro said it remained unclear what impact the Russian pull-out would have, telling reporters: "We have to see what will happen in the next days."

But he hailed Putin's announcement, saying it showed "a very clear commitment... to support the negotiations".