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U.N. General Assembly to vote on Syria resolution; Russia opposed

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

ac263614ae3232b9103181703185fee0 U.N. General Assembly to vote on Syria resolution; Russia opposed

(Reuters) – The U.N. is set to vote on Wednesday on a that condemns Syrian authorities and accepts the opposition Syrian National Coalition as party to a potential political transition.

Russia, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is opposed to the resolution, which was drafted by Qatar and other and circulated among the 193 U.N. member states. Some Western said it was unlikely to win as many votes as a resolution that passed last year with 133 in favor.

No country has a veto in the General Assembly.

“I’m convinced a lot of countries voted for this text because they believed they were voting for the winning side,” a senior western U.N. , speaking on condition of anonymity, said in reference to the August, 2012 resolution. “They are not so sure anymore.”

“Now also you have the Islamist, terrorist factor which is much more conspicuous,” he said.

The Syrian conflict started more than two years ago with mainly against Assad, but turned into a civil war in which the United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed. Islamist militants have emerged as the most potent of the anti-Assad rebels.

Wednesday’s vote comes as Washington and have been mulling the benefits and risks of supplying arms to Syrian rebels.

Another senior U.N. diplomat, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said this draft resolution was stronger than the earlier resolution, prompting Russia to write to all states to complain that it was unbalanced. The diplomat said Russia had also warned that it could hinder preparations for a Syria , as agreed by Russia and the United States.

A dispute between Russia and the United States over how to end Syria’s war has left the U.N. Security Council paralyzed to act. They both agreed last week to convene a peace conference on Syria, but that plan already appears to be hitting snags over who should represent the opposition.

The current draft U.N. resolution welcomes the establishment of the Syrian National Coalition “as effective representative interlocutors needed for a political transition.”

CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROBE

But diplomats said some countries may be concerned that the draft resolution could be considered as official U.N. recognition of the coalition as the representative of the Syrian people.

“It’s very likely the vote will not be as high as last year,” said another senior western U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But we clearly don’t want the numbers to go below 100 or 110.”

The Syrian National Coalition has been recognized by the 130 international representatives comprising the “Friends of Syria” group of nations and the as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”

The draft resolution condemns “all violence, irrespective of where it comes from,” continued escalation in the use of heavy weapons by Syrian authorities, the shelling and shooting by into neighboring nations and human rights abuses.

It also demands that the Syrian authorities grant unfettered access to a U.N. team investigating allegations that chemical weapons have been used in the conflict. The Syrian government and the opposition have accused each other of carrying out chemical weapons attacks. Both deny the accusations.

The draft resolution further welcomes Arab League decisions relevant to reaching a political solution, but does not reference an agreement by the league that member states have the right to provide military support to fighting Assad’s troops.

In August there were 12 votes against the Syria resolution and 31 abstentions and some countries did not participate. Russia was among those that opposed it. China, Iran, North Korea, Belarus, Cuba and other states that often criticize the West also voted against it.

The draft resolution reaffirms U.N. support for U.N.-Arab League Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, who recently agreed to stay on in the role despite his frustration at the international deadlock that has prevented Security Council action to halt the conflict.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Diplomats: U.S., China agree on N. Korea sanctions

March 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Diplomats: U.S., China agree on N. Korea sanctions
In this Dec. 12, 2012 file image, North Korea’s Unha-3 rocket lifts off from the Sohae launching station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea.(Photo: AP)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and China have reached agreement on a new draft sanctions resolution to punish North Korea for its latest , U.N. said late Monday.

The U.N. Security Council announced late Monday evening that it will hold closed consultations on North Korea and non-proliferation at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) Tuesday. The diplomats, speaking on condition of because no official announcement has been made, said the United States is expected to circulate a draft resolution to the full council at the meeting. are then expected to send the draft to their for review.

All 15 council members approved a press statement condemning ’s nuclear test and pledging further action hours after North Korea carried out its third atomic blast on Feb. 12.

The swift and unanimous response from the U.N.’s most powerful body set the stage for a fourth round of sanctions against Pyongyang.

For the last three weeks, the United States, a close ally of South Korea and Japan, has been negotiating the text of a new resolution with China, North Korea’s closest ally.

Russian U.N. Ambassador , whose country holds the council presidency this month, told a news conference Monday that a resolution on North Korea might be approved in March though the text had not yet been circulated.

Last month’s statement from the Security Council called the underground test in February a “grave violation” of three U.N. resolutions that ban North Korea from conducting nuclear or .

North Korea’s three — in 2006, 2009 and 2013 — occurred after Pyongyang was condemned by the United Nations for rocket launches.

The Security Council imposed sanctions after the first two nuclear tests and after the North’s in December, which was viewed as part of the country’s covert program to develop ballistic missiles that can carry .

The sanctions are aimed at trying to derail the country’s rogue nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. They bar North Korea from testing or using nuclear or ballistic missile technology, and from importing or exporting material for these programs.

The latest sanctions resolution, adopted in January, again demanded that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program and cease missile launches. It slapped sanctions on North Korean companies and government agencies, including its space agency and several individuals.

The diplomats said they did not know what new sanctions would be included in the resolution to be circulated Tuesday.

There has been speculation that a new resolution will strengthen existing sanctions related to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, toughen financial restrictions and cargo inspections, and add additional companies and individuals to the sanctions list.

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A two-state Middle East solution hangs in the balance as Obama waits

December 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

RTR2YVOB A two state Middle East solution hangs in the balance as Obama waits

(PhatzNewsRoom / Reuters) — President may have believed he had at least until his inauguration next month to renew efforts to forge a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but events since he won re-election have put fresh demands on the president.

Since the U.S. election, we have witnessed another mini-war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza; the upgrading of the status of the Palestinians to a non- at the United Nations General Assembly; and most recently a series of retaliatory moves by Israeli Netanyahu. These included a decision to build thousands of housing units in and the West Bank and holding back some tax receipts that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Some of Israel’s supporters in the U.S. Senate tried to weigh in this week with a that punishes the Palestinians by closing their office in Washington, D.C. The draft was one of 20 amendments submitted to the of 2012– but it was mysteriously withdrawn on Wednesday before coming to a vote.

Hamas, which emerged from the most recent confrontation battered, but with its political prestige boosted across the Arab world, is still committed to Israel’s destruction. Listed by the United States as a terrorist organization, it is not considered a partner for negotiation. However, absent the Palestinian mission in Washington, the United States would have no official Palestinian partner for its diplomacy efforts.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the amendment might have been dropped when it became clear that it would garner disproportionate and thus embarrass its Democratic backers. It also may have failed because the Obama administration lobbied against it. The administration considers the conduct of foreign policy, including which foreign missions are allowed to operate in Washington, its business and not that of Congress. Nonetheless, in an extremely rare example of a U.S. lawmaker publicly criticizing Israel, California Senator Diane Feinstein was quoted by Congressional Quarterly as criticizing Israel for undermining peace. It seems clear from Feinstein’s comment that some Democrats were angered by Netanyahu’s action.

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is Israel’s partner for peace – as acknowledged repeatedly by Netanyahu. If the amendment in Congress was a genuine reflection of feelings toward Palestinian representation in the U.S., that undercuts Obama’s efforts to negotiate a solution that prevents further conflict.

The most serious recent move was the Netanyahu government’s decision to build a huge new settlement in a tract of land in the West Bank known as E1. The strategic significance of this area is huge. The construction would cut off the north of the West Bank from the south, meaning that any future Palestinian state would not rule a contiguous territory but would be reduced to a series of cantons separated by massive Jewish settlement blocks.

A peace settlement would require the recognition if a contiguous Palestinian state with the E1 zone as its north-south corridor. Netanyahu’s E1 move is nothing less than a dagger aimed at the heart of the two-state solution.

Faced with this, the Obama administration’s tepid response has been indicative only of his unpreparedness to act. While Britain, France and a growing list of other nations summoned the Israeli in their capital to hear tough messages of grave concern and intense displeasure, State Department spokesman Mark Toner merely reiterated “our longstanding opposition to Israeli settlement activity” and urged Israel to “reconsider its actions and exercise restraint.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a forum last week that Netanyahu’s decision “set back the cause of a negotiated peace,” but the outgoing secretary seems disinclined to become more involved. She won plaudits last month for helping to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but she seems to have little appetite for more substantive work in the closing weeks of her tenure. The last thing Clinton, who is mulling a possible 2016 presidential bid, may want is to bump heads with Israel.

With Obama handling the fiscal cliff negotiations, Clinton effectively out of the game and United Nations Ambassador , her possible successor, hamstrung with her own political troubles, it seems that no one high up in the administration is minding the Israel-Palestine account.

Officials are no doubt working quietly through diplomatic channels to persuade Netanyahu to back down from his E1 decision. But this may not be enough.

The Israeli leader is in the thick of an election campaign during which his Likud Party has shifted sharply to the right. In internal party primaries that determined the party’s slate for the Jan. 22 election, well-known moderates such as Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor and Benny Begin were effectively shunted aside while right-wingers who back more settlement activity and oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state took top positions.

In the weeks remaining before the election, Netanyahu is liable to take even more extreme steps to shore up his position. Defying the international community has always played well with the Israeli electorate, large portions of which feel victimized by the rest of the world.

But criticism from the United States is different. While Israeli politicians may be able to dismiss criticism from European nations and even from close friends like Australia, they cannot do so when the censure comes from Washington.

Israeli politicians and the Israeli public have always understood the degree of their dependence on the United States. Without U.S. diplomatic backing, Israel would be almost entirely isolated in the world. Without deep U.S. military, scientific and financial involvement, Israel would struggle to maintain its prized technological edge over its enemies.

Obama may have wished to wait until after his inauguration to get tough with Israel – but he may not have that luxury.

PHOTO: U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed

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U.N. Security Council to vote on expanding Syria observer mission

April 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

4833c99e2362c4badb2b2a57b0b37cb9 U.N. Security Council to vote on expanding Syria observer mission

Day of defiance in Syria
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Oil pipeline sabotaged in eastern Syria, a state-run says
Terrorists killed 10 security forces in Daraa, the outlet says
Approval of the U.N. Security Council draft resolution would authorize 300 monitors in Syria
At least three people shot dead in , activists said

() — The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Saturday on a draft resolution that would expand the size of a U.N. monitoring mission in Syria, Western said.

The draft calls for Syrian regime’s immediate implementation of a six-point peace plan laid out by U.N.- envoy Kofi Annan and calls for both the government and opposition to cease violence.

It would also authorize the deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers, who would be expected to ensure compliance with a cease-fire imposed last week.

Reports of dropped in the days immediately after last week’s cease-fire deadline, but accounts of terror and violence have ratcheted up since, with scores of people killed this week, activists said.

Snipers in the besieged city of Homs killed at least three people on Saturday, the Local of Syria, a network of opposition activists, said.

The state-run continued blaming “armed terrorist groups” for ongoing violence, saying Saturday that such terrorists detonated a bomb that killed 10 law enforcement members in Daraa province, in the south. It also said terrorists sabotaged an oil pipeline in Ezzor province, in the east.

The Syrian military in Homs is hiding at least 17 tanks in two state-owned buildings, the said. The activists said the government is masking its military presence in the city to show adherence to a key element of the Annan peace plan — the withdrawal of troops from population centers.

CNN cannot independently verify reports of violence and deaths, as the government has severely restricted access by international media.

The Security Council previously approved the deployment of an advance team of 30 monitors meant to pave the way for a larger group of observers.

A handful of observers is already in Syria; a total of 30 is expected over the course of next week, Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for Annan, said Friday.

He said the observers in the country have not yet been to Homs, which has been a hotbed for dissent and bloodshed in recent months.

“The situation on the ground is not good, as we all know,” Fawzi said. “It’s a very fragile cease-fire. There are casualties every day. There are incidents every day, and we have to do everything we can to stop what’s going on: the killing, the violence in all its forms.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the initial three-month observer mission to be expanded to 300 monitors in 10 locations, and asked the Security Council to authorize the expanded number.

The United Nations and Syria reached agreement Thursday on a protocol for the advance monitoring team and other observers.

Russia — which, along with China, has blocked action against the Syrian regime — called for the quick approval of the Security Council resolution to deploy more monitors. Russia also said a Syrian opposition delegation will visit Moscow next week.

Meanwhile, China said it will send observers to join the U.N. monitoring mission, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesman.

The international community wants an end to the bloodshed, but the Security Council is split between Western countries demanding strong measures against al-Assad, and Russia and China, the two countries on the 15-member Security Council that have quashed attempts to take tougher action against the Syrian regime.

The plan calls on both sides to end the violence, allow access to humanitarian groups, release detainees and begin a political dialogue.

It also says demonstrators should be able to protest peacefully. While the regime restrained its response to demonstrations a week ago, Ban said, there were attempts to intimidate protesters, including reports of gunfire by government troops.

The secretary-general said this week there has also been no significant release of detainees and no substantive progress on providing humanitarian assistance, despite the Syrian regime’s acceptance of the peace plan in March. He also said Syria has not lived up to its promise to withdraw troops from cities.

On Saturday, SANA announced it had released 30 detainees whose “hands were not stained with the blood of the Syrians.” The state-run agency also said hundreds of detainees had been released in November, December and January.

Syria has been engulfed in violence for 13 months, since the government started a fierce crackdown on peaceful protests against al-Assad’s regime. The president’s family has ruled Syria for 42 years.

The United Nations estimates that at least 9,000 people have died since the protests began, while activist groups put the death toll at more than 11,000.

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U.N. General Assembly to take up resolution condemning Syria; China to send envoy

February 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

9e0792f7b72bb3a03ed502d876eaa56e U.N. General Assembly to take up resolution condemning Syria; China to send envoy

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Russia may support new under certain conditions, foreign minister says
China says it is sending its vice foreign minister as envoy to Syria
Last-minute negotations are under way to win over Russia, which previously vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution, a French official says
storm towns in southwest Syria in a search for military defectors, the opposition says

Are you there? Send us your images or video

(CNN) — The is set Thursday to take up a symbolic resolution condemning al-Assad’s violent crackdown in Syria after China and Russia blocked the Security Council from approving enforceable measures aimed at curbing the violence.

The anticipated vote follows news that al-Assad has moved up a vote on a touted by his government as an important reform initiative, a move critics say is nothing more than window dressing.

While a resolution adopted by the 193-member nation General Assembly would not be biding, it would mark the strongest U.N. statement to date condemning al-Assad’s regime.

The calls on Syria to end human-rights violations and immediately, and condemns violence by al-Assad’s forces and the opposition.

For nearly a year, al-Assad has denied reports that his forces are indiscriminately targeting civilians, saying they were fighting armed gangs and foreign fighters bent on destabilizing the government.

But the vast majority of accounts from within the country say that Syrian forces are slaughtering civilians as part of a crackdown on anti-government opposition calling for al-Assad’s ouster.

The uprising in Syria — influenced by the Arab Spring that saw in Egypt and Tunisia — began about a year ago in the southern city of with protests calling for reforms that eventually gave way to calls for .

It is unclear what, if any, effect a resolution would have on what many world leaders see as a relentless campaign by al-Assad’s forces to stamp out opposition.

The General Assembly’s anticipated vote follows news that France is bringing another resolution before the U.N. Security Council.

“We are currently renegotiating a resolution at the U.N Security Council to see if we can persuade the Russians,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told radio station France Info on Wednesday.

Russia is seen as the lynchpin in winning passage of a resolution that could force change in Syria because it could open al-Assad’s regime up to U.N. sanctions as well as expose the president and his inner circle to possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

Syria is not a signatory of the Rome Statute that established the ICC’s authority. The Security Council is on the only world body that can refer crimes against humanity to the international court.

Russia, a Soviet-era ally with trade and arms ties to Syria, has been adamantly opposed to a resolution that calls for al-Assad to step down, saying it amounts to a mandate for regime change.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated Moscow may be open to supporting a Security Council resolution that stipulates under certain conditions peacekeepers could be deployed to Syria.

“If the issue is about stopping gunfire, everything is possible,” Lavrov said at joint a news conference with his Dutch counterpart Uri Rosenthal, according to state-run RIA-Novosti new agency.

Russia has given mixed messages as to whether it would accept a U.N. arms embargo or economic sanctions, even though it has said it is concerned about the prospect of a Syrian civil war.

Meanwhile, China announced Thursday that it was sending an envoy to Syria in an attempt to help diffuse the crisis, according to state-run China National Radio (CNR).

Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun is scheduled to travel to Syria beginning Friday for a two-day visit, CNR said. The report did not say who the minister would meet with, saying only “his detailed schedule is still in planning.”

The diplomatic developments come amid reports Thursday that Syrian forces shelled the flashpoint city of for a 13th straight day, targeting the opposition stronghold neighborhoods of Bab Amr, Inshaat and Khailidya, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition and government reports of violence because the Syrian government has severely restricted the access of international journalists.

One person was killed in Daraa Thursday by sporadic gunfire from Syrian forces, who are heavily deployed along the streets, said the Syrian Observatory. Three members of al-Assad’s security forces were also killed Thursday in clashes with military defectors who have joined the rebel Free Syrian Army and local militias, the group said.

In southwestern Syria, al-Assad’s forces reportedly stormed the village of Sahm al-Golan — near the Israeli occupied Golan Heights — searching for military defectors who have joined the rebel army or local militias, according to a member of the opposition in the town who asked to be identified only as Abu Issam out of fear of government reprisal.

Syrian forces shelled the town and used tanks when it began its assault Wednesday, forcing many residents to flee toward the Jordanian border, Abu Issam said early Thursday.

In the same region of the country, the Syrian army reportedly took control of Zabadani, where soldiers and tanks made a show of force along the streets, according to Mohamed Ali, a member of the opposition Syrian Revolution Coordination.

Al-Assad has set a February 26 vote on a constitutional referendum that the government says increases public freedoms and political plurality, the state-run said.

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Russian official visits Syria as violence rages

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

3bf371685b72d78c1ddef314e0a5e08f Russian official visits Syria as violence rages

Russia FM arrives in Syria for talks
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: 21 deaths were reported Tuesday
NEW: Syria announces “a massive popular reception” for Lavrov
NEW: France calls its ambassador home for consultations
NEW: An describes deaths of children

() — Russian Foreign Minister visited Tuesday to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, days after world leaders accused Russia of helping give the Syrian government a green light to kill more civilians.

Syrian state-run television showed throngs of people waving Russian and Syrian flags in Damascus.

“Minister Lavrov arrived in Damascus amid a massive popular reception in appreciation of Russia’s support to Syria, people and its reform program,” said Syrian state-run news agency SANA, which throughout the uprising has blamed the violence on “armed terrorist groups.”

Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution that would have demanded al-Assad stop the violence and seek a solution to the crisis.

Even as the Syrian government sought to present an image of broad popular support Tuesday, reported more deaths.

At least 21 people were killed Tuesday, including 15 in Homs, one — a 15-year-old — just outside the city of Homs, and five in the Damascus suburb Zabadani.

At least 128 people were killed nationwide Monday, mostly in the besieged city of Homs, according to the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission.

“The situation is beyond description,” the commission said in a statement. “Some of these martyrs were killed with shrapnel and the others were under the , and their bodies couldn’t be identified because they were in remains.”

Mousa Azzawi of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, speaking to CNN in London, said, “The situation is very dire.” Monday was almost “like a ,” he said.

“We have pictures of children under the age of 14 with half of their faces blown away; with children under the age of four with all of their bodies with nail bombs. We have pictures of one child who was dying on the lap of his mother under the age of 1,” Azzawi said.

U.N. officials have said an estimated 6,000 people have died since protests began nearly a year ago. The Local , a network of opposition activists that organizes and documents protests, said at least 7,339 people have been killed.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition or government reports from Syria because the government has restricted journalists’ access to the country.

While attempts at diplomacy have failed to curb the estimated thousands of deaths in the 11-month-old conflict, residents and opposition activists say they are desperate for help in stopping the regime from slaughtering dissidents.

The other 13 members of the U.N. Security Council voted in favor of the draft resolution on Saturday — and several have expressed outrage over the moves by Russia and China, which have major trade deals with Syria.

U.S. Ambassador said Russia and China “will have any future blood spill on their hands,” while French Ambassador Gerard Araud said Beijing and Moscow have aligned themselves with a regime that is massacring its people.

France called its ambassador home Tuesday for consultations, as did Italy. Britain did so on Monday. The United States closed its embassy in Damascus, saying the Syrian government was refusing to address its security concerns.

China and Russia say they want the violence to end and to see dialogue among Syria’s opposition factions. On his way to Damascus for talks with al-Assad, Lavrov said Western states “are trying to obscure the developments with hysterical statements on Russia’s veto of the Syria resolution,” according to comments carried on the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter page.

“The UNSC’s attempt to force the Syrian regime to stop the violence without the same for the armed groups shows support for one side,” Lavrov said. He called it “disrespectful” for council members to bring the resolution up for a vote “despite our request to wait for Russia’s report after its visit to Damascus.”

It’s unclear what will happen on the world stage after the failed U.N. move.

“The entire world should be ashamed of what’s happening here,” said “Zaidoun,” a Damascus-based opposition member. “Everybody is just silent and looking at us being slaughtered every moment, for no reason — just for asking for our freedom.”

An opposition activist in Homs, identified only as “Danny” to protect his safety, said government forces fired rockets on the city after the U.N. draft resolution failed.

“You have rockets landing next to your house. I’m next to a window and a rocket might kill me,” Danny said.

But Syria, on SANA, said more and more members of the armed forces and civilians are being killed by terrorist groups.

Fourteen “army and law enforcement forces martyrs” were buried Monday, SANA reported.

Al-Assad’s British-born wife has been largely quiet during the Syrian uprising.

But an article published Monday in The Times of London said Asma al-Assad appears to support her husband, while also wanting dialogue and comfort for the bereaved in the country.

According to an e-mail sent through an intermediary from Asma al-Assad’s office, “The president is the president of Syria, not a faction of , and the First Lady supports him in that role,” The Times reported.

“The First Lady’s very busy agenda is still focused on supporting the various charities she has long been involved with and rural development as well as supporting the President as needed,” the e-mail continued, according to The Times. “These days she is equally involved in bridging gaps and encouraging dialogue. She listens to and comforts the families of the victims of the violence.”

SANA reported Tuesday that a national committee has completed a draft constitution for the country.

Protesters and rebel fighters are demanding an end to al-Assad’s rule and the beginning of true democratic elections. Al-Assad has been in power since 2000; his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for three decades before that.

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Syria locks down Hama on anniversary of massacre

February 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

8febaa248a5f0bb27c4de21c0eae1400 Syria locks down Hama on anniversary of massacre

(Reuters) – closed public squares in Hama on Thursday after residents poured red paint symbolizing blood on the ground to mark the of the massacre President Bashar al-Assad’s father carried out during an uprising against his rule.

The act of defiance came as Russia warned it would veto any U.N. resolution on Syria it finds unacceptable, making clear it wanted to prevent Libyan-style intervention over Assad’s violent crackdown on 11 months of mass protests and armed insurrection.

Recent political violence in Syria has killed at least 5,000 people, and activists say Assad’s forces have stepped up operations around the country after appearing to crush rebels who brought the fight to the outskirts of the capital, .

Activists in Hama said washed away dye and paint poured on the ground overnight to commemorate the of the elder Assad’s 1982 assault on the city – centre of an Islamist revolt against him – at the cost of over 10,000 lives.

“They want to kill the memory and they do not want us to remember,” said an activist in the city, where residents said tanks blocked main squares to prevent demonstrations. “But we will not accept it.”

The anniversary of the Hama massacre comes as Russia fends off attempts to mobilize the United Nations against Syria.

Moscow, presented with an Arab League-backed draft resolution that Washington and Paris endorse, says that plan – which calls on Assad to hand powers to a deputy – demands any text rule out intervention, warning it will veto an “unacceptable” resolution.

Russia and China, both veto-wielding Security Council members, stand in the way of a Western push for a resolution condemning the Syrian government’s crackdown on unrest.

U.N. Security Council met in New York on Wednesday to discuss ways to overcome their disagreements on the wording of the European-Arab draft resolution that Morocco submitted to council members on Friday.

RUSSIA WARNS AGAINST LIBYAN PRECEDENT

The closed-door negotiations ended without a final agreement and will resume on Thursday, Germany’s U.N. mission said. The draft will be updated to reflect Wednesday’s discussions, which the mission said were “rather constructive.”

A council at the meeting told Reuters, however, that Russia’s envoy reiterated to council members that the expression of full support for the Arab League plan in the current draft was “unacceptable.”

He also made clear Moscow could not accept the expression of concern in the draft about arms sales to Syria unless there was a waver for weapons transfers to the Syrian government, the diplomat said.

“It’s way too soon in my judgment to know whether ultimately there will be agreement,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told reporters. “It’s long past time for this council to take meaningful action,” she said.

Despite the Russian comments, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said a “window of hope” had opened, and vowed redoubled efforts to agree a text “in the next few days.”

Russia says the West exploited fuzzy wording in a March 2011 U.N. Security Council resolution on Libya to turn a mandate to protect civilians in the North African country’s uprising into a push to remove the government, backed by NATO air strikes, that led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

Russia also worries the draft’s threat of further measures against Syria may lead to sanctions, which it opposes.

‘WHOSE SIDE?’

Western envoys in New York said the main sticking point was likely to be not , on which they were confident agreement could be reached, but the resolution’s support for the Arab League plan demanding Assad give up power. That is seen by Moscow as tantamount to change of government.

The envoys said their biggest challenge would be to reword the draft so that it still endorses the plan but in a way that is weaker than the current version.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters: “Every member of the council has to make a decision: Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the Syrian people? … Or are you on the side of a brutal, dictatorial regime?”

An said Syrian troops in an armored column fired heavy machineguns on Wednesday at homes outside the southern city of Deraa, where the uprising against Assad began, and that army defectors fought troops in the northern Idlib province.

Syria’s state news agency SANA reported the funerals of eight security force personnel killed confronting “terrorist groups,” bringing the total of such deaths it has claimed in the past few days to about 80. It said a general was killed on Wednesday.

Syrian insurgents said on Wednesday Assad’s forces had extended a military sweep against eastern and northern suburbs of Damascus where they hit rebels hard this week. An activist group said at least 25 people had been killed in that sweep.

In Wadi Barada on the edge of the capital, four people were killed in a tank bombardment on Wednesday to flush out rebel Free Syrian Army units operating near the capital, activists said. SANA said killed 11 “terrorists” and found bomb factories in their raids on the suburbs.

It was not possible to verify the reports as Syria restricts access for independent media.

(Additional reporting by Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing, Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, John Irish in Paris, Louis Charbonneau in New York and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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Clinton: U.N. action in Syria won’t be military

February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

1542b6b447fa992167d929b08433b454 Clinton: U.N. action in Syria wont be military

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Vowing to avoid “another Libya,” the U.S. and its allies challenged Russia on Tuesday to overcome its opposition to a U.N. demanding that Syrian President Bashar Assad yield power and end the violence that has killed thousands.

“It is time for the international community to put aside our own differences and send a clear message of support to the people of Syria,” Secretary of State told the U.N. Security Council in backing an Arab League plan for the country.

Russia, one of Assad’s strongest allies, has signaled it would veto any U.N. action against Damascus, fearing it could open the door to eventual international military involvement, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution led to NATO airstrikes in Libya.

STORY: Draft U.N. resolution vows no forces in Syria
STORY: Syrian regime ratchets up crackdowns

But Clinton said U.N. action in Syria would not involve , unlike the NATO-led efforts that resulted in the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.

“I know that some members here may be concerned that the Security Council is headed toward another Libya,” Clinton said. “That is a false analogy.”

The top diplomats from Britain, France and Arab League pressed the same point: The objective of the draft resolution was not military involvement and a continued delay would come at the cost of the lives of .

“We all have a choice: Stand with the people of Syria and the region or become complicit in the continuing violence there,” Clinton told council members.

“Despite its ruthless tactics, the Assad regime’s reign of terror will end and the people of Syria will have the chance to chart their ,” she said. “The question for us is: How many more innocent civilians will die before this country is able to move forward toward the kind of future it deserves?”

The diplomatic showdown came as Syrian government forces took back control of the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, after rebel soldiers briefly captured the area in a startling advance last week. The two-day offensive left more than 100 people dead, making it among the bloodiest days since the uprising began in March, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group.

The U.N. estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in the Syrian government crackdown, but has not been able to update the figure.

Russia has stood by Assad as he tries to crush the uprising. In October, Moscow vetoed the first Security Council attempt to condemn Syria’s crackdown and has shown little sign of budging in its opposition.

Moscow’s stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. Russia also rejects what it sees as a world order dominated by the U.S.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Moscow “would never allow the Security Council to authorize anything similar to what happened in Libya.”

Saying the U.N. should not choose sides, Lavrov told the ABC that all parties should cease violence and engage in dialogue. Russia “would not support anything that would be imposed on Syria,” he said.

“The Western draft Security Council resolution on Syria does not lead to a search for compromise,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov wrote Tuesday on Twitter. “Pushing this resolution is a path to civil war.”

Still, Russian Ambassador indicated in his address to the council that agreement could still be reached with more negotiation. He said his country found “some of the elements of our text” in the current draft, “and that gives rise for hope.”

An earlier proposal on Syria circulated by Russia had been rejected by some Western and Arab nations for not being strong enough. “We hope the council will come to consensus,” Churkin said.

Clinton suggested that more negotiation on the text was necessary before a vote later in the week. “We will have a concerted effort over the next days to reach agreement in the Security Council to put forth a resolution that sends a message to President Assad and his regime,” she told reporters.

Earlier in the session, the Arab League made a rare call to the council to condemn violence in a fellow Arab country, and adopt its peace plan.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told the council that the league wanted the Security Council to act “to support our initiative and not to take its place.”

“We are attempting to avoid any foreign intervention, particularly military intervention” in Syria, he said. “We have always stressed full respect of the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian people.”

British Foreign Minister William Hague called for speedy action.

“How long do Syrian families have to live in fear that their children will be killed or tortured, before the Security Council will act?” Hague asked. “How many people need to die before the consciences of world are stirred?”

In its current form, the resolution demands that Assad halt the crackdown and implement an Arab League peace plan calling for him to hand over power to his vice president. If Assad fails to comply within 15 days, the council would consider “further measures,” a reference to a possible move to impose economic or other .

In his response, Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari lashed out at the league, accusing it of acting without consulting the Syrian leadership.”How strange it is for us to see some members of the League of Arab States seeking the support of the Security Council against Syria,” Ja’afari said. He noted that the Security Council often has voted in support of Israel against Arab-backed measures.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday at a news conference in Amman, Jordan, that he was “encouraged by the League of Arab States’ initiative to seek a political solution” to the Syrian crisis.

“It is more urgent than ever to put an end to this and violence, to start a credible political solution that addresses the legitimate aspiration of the Syrian people and to protect their fundamental freedoms,” Ban said.

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Arab League head to address U.N. on Syria

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

af0587ea0e8c0dae47ca2c06701fa18e Arab League head to address U.N. on Syria

Deadly cat and mouse game in Syria
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Death toll Tuesday reaches 17, an opposition group says
Government forces were killed in Idlib, a rebel group says
: U.N. passage of a proposed Syria resolution could lead Syria to a civil war
The U.N. Security Council considers a draft resolution that calls for al-Assad to step down

United Nations (CNN) — The U.N. Security Council will hear from the head of the Arab League Tuesday about what the group’s monitors saw in Syria as council members mull whether to call on Syrian al-Assad to step down.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el- will address the council as it considers a draft resolution proposed by Morocco that calls for al-Assad to transfer power.

“It is primarily a straightforward condemnation of what has transpired, a call upon the government of Syria to adhere to the commitments it made,” U.S. Ambassador told reporters about the draft. She noted that it contains no sanctions and does not threaten the use of force.

U.S. State said the draft demands the government end the violence, pull back its heavy weaponry from residential areas, allow monitors to operate freely, release political prisoners and allow the news media to operate.

“This is a regime composed of a small minority that is now attacking the majority of Syrians,” she said. “It is the regime that bears responsibility for the violence.”

Meanwhile, a humanitarian crisis is unraveling in several areas of Syria, opposition activists said Tuesday.

At least 17 people were confirmed dead Tuesday, including nine in Idlib, six in Homs, one in Daraa and one in suburbs, according to the the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, an opposition group that organizes and documents demonstrations. The group reported 100 deaths Monday.

Much of Ghouta, in the of Damascus, faces a “complete siege and closure” after days of sustained bombings that killed dozens, the LCC said.

Electricity, water, heating fuel and food are in short supply, and communications are interrupted, the LCC said.

“We appeal to the Red Cross and the Red Crescent and all relevant international organizations to go to the area and provide relief for its people with food, medicine, and shelter and to pressure the criminal regime to stop its ongoing crimes against our people,” the group said in a statement.

A spokesman for the rebel group Revolutionary Council in Irbin, just outside Damascus, told CNN Tuesday, “What we are witnessing today is a heavy attack by tanks and artillery on the eastern outskirts.” At about 8 a.m., the army reached the main square, he said. There were several “massive explosions,” though it was not clear if they all came from within Irbin, he said.

Earlier, by 6 a.m., the city was blocked and no one was allowed to leave amid a “massive presence of soldiers,” he said.

The spokesman, going by the pseudonym Abu Sayeed, said there were two confirmed deaths in the city. On Monday, no one could get to a dead body for six hours because of sniper fire, he side.

Electricity was available only three hours a day because of “punishment” from the regime, he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another opposition group, said that in Idlib, where fighting has raged in recent days, clashes between government forces and army defectors that started after the bombing of a military truck resulted in the deaths of members of the government forces.

The observatory and the LCC said regime forces stationed at a checkpoint fired on a busload of workers, leaving one person dead and seven wounded.

Syria, in state media, blames the violence on “armed terrorist groups.”

State-run news agency SANA carried a report Tuesday saying that “an official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry stated that the U.S.-Western hostile statements are mounting against Syria in a flagrant way.”

The story quoted the source as saying the statements against Syria are timed to “to target Syria and create a different image about the situation of the Syrian crisis,” and the statements are “coming from countries accustomed to making the Middle East a field for their foolishness and failing experiments.”

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition or government reports from Syria because access to the country is limited.

The draft U.N. resolution calls for al-Assad to step down and supports “full implementation” of the Arab League recommendations for Syria. That would include calling on Syria to form a unity government within two months.

But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov warned that the resolution, if passed, will put Syria on a “path to civil war,” according to the foreign ministry.

Russia — which maintains trade relations with Syria — has proposed its own draft U.N. resolution that assigns equal blame for the violence on both al-Assad and the opposition.

In October, Russia and China issued a rare double of a resolution that lacked sanctions but would have condemned the violence in Syria.

Russia said Syrian authorities have agreed to informal talks with opposition representatives in Moscow.

“We are convinced that the Moscow contacts are indispensable in order to immediately cease any violence in Syria, prevent and confrontation in the society, and ensure the success of deep democratic transformations in the country in compliance with the aspirations of all Syrians,” Russia’s foreign ministry said, according to the state-run Itar-Tass News Agency.

Also on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will travel to U.N. headquarters “in order to persuade the Security Council to fully assume its responsibilities in the face of the increased level of crimes against humanity being perpetrated by the Syrian regime,” according to a statement on the French U.N. delegation’s website.

“Everything must be done to bring an end to the spiral of violence now resulting from the bloody crackdown that Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been imposing for more than 10 months,” the statement said, urging other nations to support the Moroccan resolution.

The Arab League on Saturday suspended its mission to monitor whether al-Assad was abiding by an agreement to end the crackdown, which has left thousands of civilians dead. Protesters and rebel fighters have been demanding an end to al-Assad’s rule and true democratic elections.

Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, said a swift reaction by the U.N. Security Council is “urgently needed.”

“I urge all members of the U.N. Security Council to assume their responsibilities in relation to the situation in Syria, and adopt steps long overdue in order to bring an end to the repression in Syria,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday called for the council to “send a clear message of support to the Syrian people: We stand with you.”

“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the escalation of the Syrian regime’s violent and brutal attacks on its own people,” Clinton said in a statement.

A resident of Homs said six members of a family — parents, two boys and two girls — were found dead in the city Monday. A YouTube video showed what appeared to be marks of torture on the bodies.

One woman’s eye had been gouged from its socket. “This is the work of Assad’s gangs and his so-called reforms,” a voice in the video said. CNN could not confirm this independently.

The United Nations estimated last month that more than 5,000 people have died since the uprising in Syria started in March. Opposition groups estimate a higher death toll, with counts near or exceeding 7,000 people.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s immigration service announced it is suspending all deportations and expulsions to Syria due to the “rapidly deteriorating security situation” in that country. The decision follows a move in December to ramp up the number of spots for asylum seekers from Syria.

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Syrian security forces fan out in restive cities

August 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

07c19cc7d3d04c4e63ecb6c151139506 Syrian security forces fan out in restive cities

BEIRUT (AP) – Activists say Syrian security forces have fanned out in flashpoint cities to crush protests against Assad.

The security presence Saturday was largest in Damascus suburbs, the eastern city of el-Zour and the coastal city of Latakia. The Local , an that helps organize the protests, reported sporadic shootings.

The military operations come a day after Syrian security forces killed at least two people as tens of thousands of anti-government protesters flooded the streets on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

More than five months into the revolt against Assad, the conflict has descended into a bloody with both sides showing no sign of giving in.

Western nations circulated a draft U.N. resolution on Tuesday that calls for against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, influential members of his family and key associates.

U.S. and European delegations hope to put the to a vote in the 15-nation Security Council as soon as possible. The sanctions are the Western nations’ response to Damascus’ five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, which the United Nations says has left 2,200 civilians dead.

But Russia, which has veto-power, said it does not think sanctioning Damascus is the right approach at the moment.

The resolution, drafted by Britain, France, Germany, Portugal and the United States and obtained by , says the council “strongly condemns the continued grave and systematic by the Syrian authorities” and “demands an immediate end to the violence.”

While it would call for freezing Assad’s , as it does for 22 other Syrians, it excludes him from the list of Syrians facing an international . The draft also lists Assad’s passport number as D19093.

Others targeted for sanctions include Assad’s brother Maher, commander of the army’s 4th armored division, which is said to have played a key role in suppressing protests, Vice President Farouq al-Shara, and Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, a tycoon who controls Syria’s biggest cellphone firm Syriatel.

Among the other individuals on the sanctions list are the defense minister and several senior intelligence officials.

The resolution would impose sanctions on Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate and three companies that it says provide funding for the government. One of the firms, the Military Housing Establishment, is partly controlled by the Syrian defense ministry, the resolution says.

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