4 die in Syria shelling as nations meet
Source: Agencies |
February 25, 2012, Saturday
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GOVERNMENT troops shelled rebel-held areas in central Syria yesterday, killing at least four people, activists said, as the United States, Europe and Arab nations met in Tunisia to seek ways to end President Bashar Assad's crackdown on an 11-month uprising against his rule.
More than 70 countries are taking part in yesterday's "Friends of Syria" meeting, which is expected to press Assad to agree to a cease-fire and allow for humanitarian aid to reach the areas that have been hardest-hit by his security forces.
American, European and Arab officials have said the group would likely impose harsher sanctions if Assad rejects the cease-fire, and predicted the regime's opponents would grow stronger if Assad remained in power.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis gained pace on Thursday with the appointment of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan as the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis.
Annan said in a statement yesterday that he would try to "help bring an end to the violence and human rights abuses, and promote a peaceful solution" in Syria.
He expressed hope the Syrian government and opposition groups will cooperate with him in his efforts.
The Tunisia meeting is the latest international effort to end the crisis, which began when protesters, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings elsewhere, took the streets in some of Syria's impoverished provinces nearly a year ago to call for political change.
Since then, Assad's security forces have launched a fierce crackdown on the uprising, blaming it on Islamic extremists and armed gangs. The opposition, boosted by army defectors, has increasingly taken up arms against the regime.
While the US, EU and Arab League have increased the pressure on Assad, Russia and China have opposed foreign intervention or sanctions against Syria.
Alexei Pushkov, a Russian lawmaker, said yesterday that in his recent meeting with Assad, the Syrian president sounded confident and showed no sign he would step aside. Pushkov warned that arming the Syrian opposition would fuel civil war.
"Assad doesn't look like a person ready to leave, because, among other things, there is no reason for him to do that as he is being supported by broad layers of the population," Pushkov said, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.
More than 70 countries are taking part in yesterday's "Friends of Syria" meeting, which is expected to press Assad to agree to a cease-fire and allow for humanitarian aid to reach the areas that have been hardest-hit by his security forces.
American, European and Arab officials have said the group would likely impose harsher sanctions if Assad rejects the cease-fire, and predicted the regime's opponents would grow stronger if Assad remained in power.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis gained pace on Thursday with the appointment of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan as the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis.
Annan said in a statement yesterday that he would try to "help bring an end to the violence and human rights abuses, and promote a peaceful solution" in Syria.
He expressed hope the Syrian government and opposition groups will cooperate with him in his efforts.
The Tunisia meeting is the latest international effort to end the crisis, which began when protesters, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings elsewhere, took the streets in some of Syria's impoverished provinces nearly a year ago to call for political change.
Since then, Assad's security forces have launched a fierce crackdown on the uprising, blaming it on Islamic extremists and armed gangs. The opposition, boosted by army defectors, has increasingly taken up arms against the regime.
While the US, EU and Arab League have increased the pressure on Assad, Russia and China have opposed foreign intervention or sanctions against Syria.
Alexei Pushkov, a Russian lawmaker, said yesterday that in his recent meeting with Assad, the Syrian president sounded confident and showed no sign he would step aside. Pushkov warned that arming the Syrian opposition would fuel civil war.
"Assad doesn't look like a person ready to leave, because, among other things, there is no reason for him to do that as he is being supported by broad layers of the population," Pushkov said, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.
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