No haven for Syrian refugees as US refuses to support buffer zones Washington is believed to be reconsidering its strategy on Syria, which was only announced by President Obama in September. It is also reviewing its policy on how to deal with hostages after the murder of Peter Kassig, the third American to be beheaded by Isil. Mr Obama's plan to confront Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant first, and only then back the "moderate" rebels to take on the Assad regime, seemed to have backfired this month when the most prominent western-backed group in the north was over-run by al-Qaeda's local offshoot, Jabhat al-Nusra. Isil already controls most of north-east Syria, including half the Aleppo countryside. Mr Touma said that Mr Biden, the vice-president, would be discussing a safe haven on a visit to Turkey at the weekend. "The US have told us they are discussing this with the Turks at the highest level possible," he said. The opposition government has little authority, and even less since many of the local councils it funded inside rebel-held territory were forced to flee either the regime's barrel bombs or Isil. The man who led the council in Isil-controlled Raqqa was kidnapped last year and has not been seen since. However, it still channels some aid money from the West, including Britain, and believes that it would win more credibility from Syrians if it were able to operate safely inside the country. "If the decision for a safe haven does not come soon, the extremists will take over all the north of Syria," Mr Touma said. Then the situation will be really difficult, and for us as a government, we really need it - we could then go inside Syria and start to operate, we can work directly with the people, and with the FSA battalions that are fighting inside. Also we can help bring medical assistance, education and work directly with the civilian councils inside. The safe haven is one of two main ideas proposed by Turkey ever since the Syrian uprising turned into a bloody civil war three years ago, the other being the no-fly zone. There is still no will in Washington for the latter, which would be interpreted by Syria as a declaration of war and is fiercely opposed by the regime's backers Iran and Russia. However, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said last month that a safe haven was an idea "worth thinking about," even though it has been rejected in the past. That seemed to be quashed by the administration officials, Fred Hof, an administration envoy to the Syrian opposition until two years ago, said that a buffer zone was the "only live alternative in town" to the current strategy. He said he favoured a safe haven being protected against both the regime and Isil by Turkish troops on the ground and American air power, but acknowledged that risked an escalation into war. "The price of avoiding these risks is seeing the Assad regime and Isil as essentially the only parties left standing in Syria," he said. This would be a major Isil victory - Assad is a tremendous recruiting asset for them. Western diplomatic sources said that the buffer zone option was being appraised, but that concerns remained about how it would work and what would happen if it was used by opposition groups to rearm and regroup, making the zone a potential legitimate military target. "At the moment I think it is fair to say there are at least as many questions as answers," the source added.