(Reuters) - Turkey has demanded that Syria's leaders stop
the killing of civilians and said Tuesday it would be watching events there in
the next days, raising pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, who said his
forces would continue to pursue "terrorist groups."
"Developments in the
coming days will be critical, for both Syria and Turkey," Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara after returning from
talks in Damascus. "Turkey's main and first aim is for the bloodshed to be
stopped, and (for) an end to civilian deaths."
Syrian tanks pressed on with
an armored offensive in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, capital of an
oil-producing province on the border with Iraq's Sunni heartland. Residents
said snipers killed four people Tuesday as tanks thrust into main neighborhoods
and roundabouts in the city.
Assad's forces also raided
villages around the besieged city of Hama, broadening a 10-day offensive there,
and stormed the town of Binnish near the border with Turkey, activists and
residents said.
The Syrian National
Organization for Human Rights said Syrian forces killed at least 30 civilians
in the assaults, most of them north of Hama, including two girls aged 6 and 11
from the same family.
Davutoglu said he had stated
Turkey's expectations clearly in talks with Assad and other Syrian officials
and had passed on a written message from President Abdullah Gul and an oral
message from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to Assad.
Turkish leaders, who once
backed Assad, have repeatedly urged him to halt the violence and make urgent
reforms after street protests against his autocratic 11-year rule erupted five
months ago.
"We hope that those steps
that will stop the bloodshed will be taken," Davutoglu said.
Assad, who described the
uprising as a foreign conspiracy to divide Syria, said there would be no let-up
in military action.
Syria "will not relent in
pursuing the terrorist groups in order to protect the stability of the country
and the security of the citizens," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as
telling Davutoglu.
"But (Syria) is also
determined to continue reforms ... and is open to any help offered by friendly
and brotherly states."
Washington expressed
disappointment at Assad's latest comments and said U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton expected to talk to Davutoglu after his meetings in Syria.
"It is deeply regrettable
that President Assad does not seem to be hearing the increasingly loud voice of
the international community," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria
Nuland told reporters when asked about the comments.
She refused to comment
directly on a 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable quoted by McClatchy newspapers last
week describing Assad in unflattering terms, calling him "neither as
shrewd nor as long-winded as his father" (former president Hafez
al-Assad).
Rights groups say at least
1,600 civilians have died since the uprising against Assad erupted in March,
making it one of the bloodiest of the upheavals sweeping the Arab world.
PEACEFUL TRANSITION
Neighboring Turkey has grown
increasingly critical of the violence but earned a sharp rebuke Sunday when an
Assad adviser said Syria would not accept interference in its affairs.
Davutoglu said Turkey hoped
for a peaceful transition in Syria resulting in the Syrian people deciding
their own future.
The protests against Assad,
whose ruling group are members of the minority Alawite sect, were inspired by
Arab revolts which overthrew leaders in Egypt and Tunisia earlier this year.
Last week Assad sent troops
and tanks to quell the mostly Sunni Muslim city of Hama in central Syria and
the army launched a similar assault Sunday against Deir al-Zor.
Increasing the pressure on
Assad, Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia issued a blunt warning that he risked
turmoil unless he stopped the bloodshed and adopted reforms. Kuwait and Bahrain
followed the kingdom in recalling their ambassadors.
The withdrawal of envoys left
Assad with few diplomatic friends bar Iran.
Western states have imposed sanctions on his top officials, while states with
close ties to Damascus such as Russia and Turkey have warned Assad he is
running out of time.
But no country has proposed
military action such as that launched against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Syrian authorities have denied
that any Deir al-Zor assault took place. They say they have faced attacks since
the protests erupted in March, blaming armed saboteurs for civilian deaths and
accusing them of killing 500 security personnel.
State television broadcast
footage Sunday of mutilated bodies floating in the Orontes river in Hama,
saying 17 police had been killed in the central Syrian city.
SANA news agency said Monday
the military was starting to pull out of Hama after helping to restore order.
Residents said there were still tanks in parts of the city and security forces
were arresting hundreds of people.
Activists say at least 130
people were killed in Hama, where Assad's father crushed an armed Islamist
uprising in 1982, and one group has put the death toll at over 300.
Like most of Syria, Hama and
Deir al-Zor are mainly Sunni cities, and the crackdowns there resonate with
Sunnis who form the majority in the region and govern most Arab countries.
(Additional reporting by Mariam
Karouny in Beirut and
Tulay Karadenis in Ankara; Writing byDominic Evans;
Editing by Tim Pearce)
Source : Reuters
Online Booking Hotel
EmpireMoney
No comments:
Post a Comment