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    March 09, 2012

Syrian Violence Continues Ahead of UN Envoy Visit

   VOA News
   A man chants anti-government slogans while carrying the body of
   Abdulaziz Abu Ahmed Khrer, killed by a Syrian Army sniper, during his
   funeral in Idlib, north Syria, March 8, 2012
   Photo: AP
   A man chants anti-government slogans while carrying the body of
   Abdulaziz Abu Ahmed Khrer, killed by a Syrian Army sniper, during his
   funeral in Idlib, north Syria, March 8, 2012

   Syrian troops continued their crackdown on opposition forces on the eve
   of a visit by new U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who is calling for
   a political solution to the year-long crisis.
   The [1]Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government soldiers
   stormed villages in the northwestern province of Idlib in an attempt to
   hunt down defectors belonging to the Free Syrian Army. Many there fear
   a major assault like the one that recently devastated the Homs
   neighborhood of Baba Amr.
   Syrian opposition groups rejected calls by Annan to engage in dialogue
   with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
   Before his visit Saturday to Syria, the former U.N. chief warned
   against arming rebel forces, saying foreign intervention would make the
   situation worse. But opposition groups say a political solution is
   unrealistic as long as Assad is intent on using force against his
   opponents.
   China's reaction
   China's foreign ministry welcomed Annan's mission in Syria, saying it
   hoped the "impartial mediation" would result in peace talks. China also
   announced it will send an envoy to the Middle East and France next week
   to discuss the crisis.
   China, along with Russia, has twice vetoed U.N. Security Council
   proposals that would have put pressure on Assad's government to end the
   conflict.
   Russia on Friday reiterated its opposition to a new U.S.-backed
   proposal on the Syrian crisis. The Interfax news agency quoted Russian
   Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying the resolution was
   "unbalanced" because it did not hold both the government and rebel
   forces equally accountable for the violence.
   Humanitarian visit
   Meanwhile, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos toured Syrian refugee
   camps along the Turkish-Syrian border on Friday before holding talks
   with officials in Ankara. At least 11,000 Syrians have sought refuge at
   the camps as government forces target rebellious areas along the
   border.
   On Thursday, Amos told reporters in Damascus that the former rebel
   stronghold of Baba Amr has suffered "significant" devastation and that
   parts of the district were "completely destroyed" by the government
   assault. She briefly visited Baba Amr on Wednesday, the first foreign
   official to enter the area since the government ended a month-long
   assault last week.
   The U.N. estimates that Syrian forces have killed well over 7,500
   people since the anti-Assad uprising began a year ago. The government
   blames "terrorists" for the unrest, saying that 2,000 of its security
   forces have been killed in the conflict.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Syrian-Observatory-for-Human-Rights/121855461256134
   2. http://middleeastvoices.com/
   3. http://twitter.com/#!/mideastvoice
   4. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667?%20%20%20%20v=wall

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