Syrian rebels take battle to heart of Damascus

Government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad this weekend, as William Hague compared the situation in Syria with “Bosnia in the 1990s”.

Syrians carrying coffins of people who were killed in an explosion outside a power transfer station in Qabun, a district of the capital Damascus

Government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad this weekend, as William Hague compared the situation in Syria with "Bosnia in the 1990s".

Following another 140 deaths across the country, the Foreign Secretary pointedly refused to rule out foreign military intervention.

"Syria is... on the edge of a collapse or of a sectarian civil war, so I don't think we can rule anything out," he said.

"But it is not so much like Libya last year, where of course we had a successful intervention to save lives. It is looking more like Bosnia in the 1990s, being on the edge of a sectarian conflict in which neighbouring villages are attacking and killing each other," he told Sky News.

After a hesitant start, Nato gradually increased its role in Bosnia in the mid-1990s to enforce a no-fly zone with considerable air power to deter Bosnian Serb forces. There have been calls for similar action in Syria from some quarters in Washington, where Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said "military options should be considered", though diplomacy remained the preferred option.

Despite fierce Russian and Chinese opposition to foreign military intervention, Mr Hague suggested that Moscow was increasingly concerned about a Bosnia-style conflagration and hinted that it could be won round to a more robust international response.

"The Russians are not wedded to Assad being in power, they just want Syrians to decide their own future. Well, that's exactly what we want - but they can't decide their own future while they are being killed, their bodies burnt, the [UN] monitors shot at.

"So it requires Russia to use its leverage to say to the Assad regime: 'you have to follow the Annan plan'. And if we call a conference together it will be about ensuring that such a plan is fully implemented so that there's a cessation of violence and a political process in Syria."

Western states have scrambled to respond to the disintegration of a peace plan brokered by Kofi Annan, the international envoy to Syria, that followed massacres of Sunni villagers widely attributed to members of the president's Alawite minority. As many as 186 people, many of them women and children, were killed.

Those atrocities led the rebel Free Syrian Army to abandon the UN-backed ceasefire and to strike in three districts of Damascus that had hitherto escaped relatively unscathed.

Shooting and explosions could be heard across the city for more than 12 hours on Saturday night, with government tank shells struck buildings in two central districts of Damascus, forcing residents to cower in basements but failing to repulse fighters from the FSA. Such exchanges had previously only been taken in suburbs of the capital.

Challenging the government's increasingly tenuous hold elsewhere in the country, rebels also engaged Mr Assad's security forces in major battles in the cities of Homs, Deraa and Idlib, as well as in villages near Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.

The Syrian opposition's newly appointed leader, Abdelbasset Sayda, proclaimed that the regime was "on its last legs" amid signs that a once ragtag rebel outfit was transforming itself into a capable guerrilla force. Opposition activists declared that a turning point in the conflict had been reached, and pledged to step up their offensive in the capital.

The insurgents have been emboldened by increased funds and weapons from Arab gulf states, said activists.

"The FSA has become more powerful and well organised," said Yahya Awash, a resident of the suburb of Douma, a scene of heavy recent fighting. "They have more weapons and troops and so can make more complicated operations."

The rebels' mounting confidence has transferred itself to the civilian population, with 50 demonstrations reported by the opposition in Damascus, more than ever before.

A general strike in Damascus called to protest the recent massacres has also proved surprisingly successful, suggesting that the capital's merchant class - a key pillar of support for the regime - may be turning against Mr Assad.

Opposition activists claimed that as many as 90 per cent of shops had closed their doors, despite efforts to intimidate them.

"During the strike, the military forces tried to burn some stores or force the doors open, but they were powerless," said Omar Dimashki, a businessman and activist, who said he had shut all 20 of his showrooms.

"Some were frightened and so tried to open their shops, but, when they saw that they were the only ones open, they shut them. We feel that Damascus is in our hands now."

Following another 140 deaths across the country, the Foreign Secretary pointedly refused to rule out foreign military intervention.

“Syria is... on the edge of a collapse or of a sectarian civil war, so I don’t think we can rule anything out,” he said.

“But it is not so much like Libya last year, where of course we had a successful intervention to save lives. It is looking more like Bosnia in the 1990s, being on the edge of a sectarian conflict in which neighbouring villages are attacking and killing each other,” he told Sky News.

After a hesitant start, Nato gradually increased its role in Bosnia in the mid-1990s to enforce a no-fly zone with considerable air power to deter Bosnian Serb forces. There have been calls for similar action in Syria from some quarters in Washington, where Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said “military options should be considered”, though diplomacy remained the preferred option.

“The Russians are not wedded to Assad being in power, they just want Syrians to decide their own future. Well, that’s exactly what we want - but they can’t decide their own future while they are being killed, their bodies burnt, the [UN] monitors shot at.

“So it requires Russia to use its leverage to say to the Assad regime: ‘you have to follow the Annan plan’. And if we call a conference together it will be about ensuring that such a plan is fully implemented so that there’s a cessation of violence and a political process in Syria.”

Western states have scrambled to respond to the disintegration of a peace plan brokered by Kofi Annan, the international envoy to Syria, that followed massacres of Sunni villagers widely attributed to members of the president’s Alawite minority. As many as 186 people, many of them women and children, were killed.

Those atrocities led the rebel Free Syrian Army to abandon the UN-backed ceasefire and to strike in three districts of Damascus that had hitherto escaped relatively unscathed.

Challenging the government’s increasingly tenuous hold elsewhere in the country, rebels also engaged Mr Assad’s security forces in major battles in the cities of Homs, Deraa and Idlib, as well as in villages near Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.

The Syrian opposition’s newly appointed leader, Abdelbasset Sayda, proclaimed that the regime was “on its last legs” amid signs that a once ragtag rebel outfit was transforming itself into a capable guerrilla force. Opposition activists declared that a turning point in the conflict had been reached, and pledged to step up their offensive in the capital.

The insurgents have been emboldened by increased funds and weapons from Arab gulf states, said activists.

“The FSA has become more powerful and well organised,” said Yahya Awash, a resident of the suburb of Douma, a scene of heavy recent fighting. “They have more weapons and troops and so can make more complicated operations.”

The rebels’ mounting confidence has transferred itself to the civilian population, with 50 demonstrations reported by the opposition in Damascus, more than ever before.

A general strike in Damascus called to protest the recent massacres has also proved surprisingly successful, suggesting that the capital’s merchant class - a key pillar of support for the regime - may be turning against Mr Assad.

Opposition activists claimed that as many as 90 per cent of shops had closed their doors, despite efforts to intimidate them.

“During the strike, the military forces tried to burn some stores or force the doors open, but they were powerless,” said Omar Dimashki, a businessman and activist, who said he had shut all 20 of his showrooms.

“Some were frightened and so tried to open their shops, but, when they saw that they were the only ones open, they shut them. We feel that Damascus is in our hands now.”

Voice of the Gospel Christian Radio - Radio Stimme des Evangeliums

Sonntag, 10. Juni 2012