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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU demand UN action on
Syria |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU
demand UN action on Syria
31.1.2012 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington,
DC, on January 20, 2012. Photo: Getty
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January 31, 2012
UNITED NATIONS, — US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton on Monday demanded UN action to stop
spiraling violence in Syria as she prepared to join
other top diplomats in pressing a reluctant Russia.
As a Syrian government offensive was blamed for the
deaths of dozens more civilians, Clinton said she
would join the foreign ministers of France and
Britain and the Arab League chief at the United
Nations on Tuesday.
"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.
"The Security Council must act and make clear to the
Syrian regime that the world community views its
actions as a threat to peace and security. The
violence must end, so that a new period of
democratic transition can begin," she said.
Clinton said that the Security Council session aimed
to send a clear message from the international
community to the Syrian people: "We stand with you."
EU President Herman Van Rompuy, speaking after a
European summit in Brussels, urged the UN Security
Council to "take long overdue steps to bring an end
to the repression."
But Russia, the main diplomatic supporter and arms
supplier to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, held
firm that it would use its veto power against an
Arab League-supported resolution that calls for a
ceasefire.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said
that the latest draft resolution, which was
introduced by Morocco on Friday, was little
different to a Western-backed one which Russia and
China vetoed in October.
"The draft has statements in it calling on the
member states to stop arms deliveries to Syria," he
told Interfax news agency in an interview.
"But there is no clear line between arms contraband
that some countries engage in to support extremist
forces in Syria, and the legal military-technical
ties with this country," he said.
Russia has instead called for Assad's regime and the
opposition to hold "informal contacts" in Moscow
without any preconditions.
Asked about Russia's call for talks, White House
spokesman Jay Carney said the United States
supported a political solution but was "intensely
discussing" with Russia the "real deterioration on
the ground" in Syria.
Human rights groups say that more than 5,400 people
have died in Syria as Assad tries to crush the
latest in a wave of Arab uprisings that last year
overthrew authoritarian leaders in Egypt,www.ekurd.net
Libya and Tunisia.
Activists said that another 53 people were killed
Monday -- 35 of them civilians -- a day after 80
people were reported to have died in some of the
most intense clashes since anti-Assad protests
erupted 10 months ago.
Regime forces appeared determined to wrest back
control of Damascus suburbs which have
intermittently fallen into the hands of the rebels
and were reported to have executed a founder of the
rebel army.
Troops penetrated Rankus, 40 kilometers (25 miles)
north of the capital, after having shelled the town
which the army had encircled for the past six days,
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Activists at the scene said that rebel troops pulled
out of Rankus as the army moved in, while in the
eastern suburbs of Irbin and Hammuriyeh, snipers
were "shooting at everything that moves."
Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory said at least 20
civilians were killed when security forces stormed
the flashpoint central city of Homs, among them a
doctor and a young girl.
The opposition Syrian National Council warned of the
potential for a massacre in Rankus after hundreds of
young men were rounded up by security forces.
"They have imposed a siege on Rankus, preventing
food and medical aid from entering" the town of
25,000 inhabitants, it said in a statement.
The opposition has flatly rejected Russia's proposal
for unconditional dialogue. The Arab League-backed
resolution calls for a halt to violence and Assad
handing over power to his deputy ahead of
negotiations.
Before heading to New York, Arab League chief Nabil
al-Arabi urged Russia and China to change their
position, saying that deteriorating conditions had
led Arab monitors to suspend their mission to Syria.
In Paris, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard
Valero urged action against "the Syrian regime's
savage repression."
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will seek to
"persuade the Security Council to assume its
responsibilities faced with the Syrian regime's
worsening crimes against humanity," Valero told
journalists.
Britain's Foreign Office, in a statement announcing
Foreign Secretary William Hague's travel to New
York, called for the Security Council to agree to a
resolution this week, saying that "the killing must
stop."
But it remains unclear if and when the United
Nations would move for a vote.
A French diplomat, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said that opinions have "evolved" within
the council and at least 10 of the 15 members could
vote in favor of the draft resolution.
But the diplomat said that Russia and India were the
most hostile to the resolution.
Copyright ©, respective author or news agency,
AFP
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