Syria’s main opposition group met for key talks in Istanbul on Thursday to debate whether to join a new US-Russian peace initiative to end the two-year civil war, while the regime vowed to crush the insurgency.

Holding its seventh general assembly meeting since its creation last November, the National Coalition is expected to choose a new president, discuss incorporating new members and decide the fate of an interim rebel government, opponents said.

The three-day meeting comes as rebels face a massive onslaught by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah in the insurgent bastion of Al-Qusayr, central Syria.

Since the Syrian conflict erupted in March 2011, more than 90,000 people have been killed.

The opponents’ meeting begins a day after backers of the anti-Assad uprising during a meeting in Amman pledged more assistance to the opposition should the regime fail to commit to a peaceful political transition.

During Wednesday’s meeting in Amman, the Friends of Syria group also tried to agree the contours of a peace conference to end the war.

The opposition has long held that it can only enter into talks with members of the regime if negotiations are guaranteed to lead to the fall of Assad’s regime.

While Assad has repeatedly said the Syrian war can only end with a political solution, state news agency SANA hinted Thursday the regime may defy the US-Russian push for peace.

“Having proclaimed themselves spokesmen for the Syrian people, participants [in the Amman meeting] have blocked the road towards the holding of an international conference” for peace, said SANA, in reference to the meeting dubbed Geneva 2 proposed by the United States and Russia.

“The enemies of Syria have clearly announced they will confiscate the Syrians’ right to carve out their country’s political future and to end the crisis through a political solution”, SANA added.

Also on Thursday, Assad reportedly told a Tunisian delegation he was determined to crush the rebellion “and those who support it regionally and globally”, SANA said.

The opposition’s ambassador in France Monzer Makhous said SANA’s dismissal of the Friends of Syria meet was “a sign” that the regime may reject the Geneva 2 proposal.

“It is not an official refusal, but it is a sign. SANA would never provide any information that does not reflect the government’s position,” Makhous told AFP.

“I feel it is unlikely that this conference [Geneva 2] would be able to reach a real solution to the Syrian crisis — not because the opposition would not want that, but because the regime does not want that,” he added.

Makhous said the Geneva 2 proposal would see the entry of a transitional government bringing together regime and opposition representatives, and that it would take over full powers in Syria for a time.

“Bashar (al-Assad) would be out of the equation, and the transitional government would be in charge of the security and military files.

“Anyone capable of analysis can see that the Syrian regime would not accept this equation, though it is the least the opposition is willing to accept,” Makhous said.

Meanwhile other Coalition members expressed reservations over Geneva 2.

“We don’t have a list of attendees, we don’t know what countries are going to attend, what’s the agenda, what’s being proposed, what are the final goals,” Coalition spokesman Khaled al-Saleh told reporters.

Another Coalition member told AFP on condition of anonymity the Geneva 2 proposal “is the same piece of hashish the international community gives us every time. They lure us into thinking the end is nigh, and then it just continues”.

With a vast onslaught on Al-Qusayr leaving scores dead in the past week, Assad appears as far as ever from giving up.

In an interview with an Argentinian newspaper this month, Assad implied he would stay until the next scheduled election in 2014.

“The regime and its backers are trying to change the situation on the ground militarily, in order to gain the upper hand in negotiations… This is costing the Syrians blood,” Coalition member Samir Nashar told AFP.

In Istanbul, dissidents are also seeking to name a new Coalition president to replace Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, who resigned in March, as well as three new vice presidents and a new secretary general.

The opposition is seeking to establish a rebel government under interim prime minister Ghassan Hitto, while discussing the group’s expansion to include 31 new members, Saleh said.

Should Hitto’s proposal fail to win the Coalition’s confidence, “he may be given a second or a third chance”, the spokesman added.

AFP - 05/23/2013

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday condemned the Syrian government’s “escalation” of the country’s war and backed the role of the opposition coalition in transition talks.

But Russia, Syria’s key diplomatic ally, fiercely opposed the resolution, branding it a potential obstacle to peace negotiations expected to be held in Geneva next month.

And only 107 countries in the 193-member assembly backed the text, down from 133 when the last Syria vote was held in August.

The United States, Britain and France joined Arab countries in supporting the resolution which expressed “outrage at the rapidly increasing death toll,” now estimated at more than 80,000 by Syrian activists.

Russia, China, Syria, Iran and North Korea were among 12 countries to oppose the resolution. Fifty-nine countries, including Brazil, South Africa, India and Indonesia abstained.

The assembly “strongly condemns the continued escalation in the use by the Syrian authorities of heavy weapons”, including “ballistic missiles” against civilians, said the resolution, which was drawn up by Qatar and other Arab states.

On political efforts to end the war, the assembly demanded all sides work to “implement rapidly” a communique agreed by the major powers in Geneva in June last year laying out the steps toward a transitional government.

The resolution welcomed the opposition Syrian National Coalition “as effective representative interlocutors needed for a transition.” This phrase infuriated Russia which said it would encourage the opposition to step up “armed actions” against the Syrian government.

The Arab League has recognized the coalition as Syria’s legitimate government. There was no recognition in the UN text but Arab states are said to be planning moves to get the coalition into Syria’s UN seat later this year.

Russia and the United States agreed to press for a new international conference on the war which is expected to be held in Geneva next month. Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin wrote to all 193 UN members ahead of the vote to slam the resolution as “one-sided and biased”.

Russia and China have vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions, proposed by western nations, aiming to step up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad over the conflict.

And Western nations strongly backed the new assembly resolution.

“The consequences of this crisis are growing more dire not only within Syria, but across the region,” said deputy US ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, who added that backing the resolution was in line with efforts to set up a peace conference.

France’s UN ambassador Gerard Araud said the resolution would help the opposition to unite for any peace conference.

“This is a substantive draft that reflects the horrific situation on the ground and pushes for a political solution,” said Germany’s UN ambassador Peter Wittig.

Qatar’s UN ambassador Meshal Hamad Al-Thani called the resolution “fair and balanced” but the text was slammed by Syria’s UN ambassador Bashar Jaafari as an attempt “to escalate the crisis and fuel violence in Syria.”

The UN assembly passed a resolution condemning Syria in August last year with 133 countries in favour, 12 votes against and 31 abstentions.

Diplomats said the lower number voting in favor this time reflected the international divisions over Syria and doubts about how it can be ended.

The resolution called for “urgent” international financing to help countries struggling with more than 1.4 million Syrian refugees. Jordan in particular has said the refugees are now a threat to its stability.

AFP - 05/15/2013

Syria’s opposition on Friday urged the UN Security Council to take immediate action after the United States said for the first time the regime probably used chemical weapons.

The call came as British Prime Minister David Cameron said that growing evidence of the use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad was “extremely serious” and called for increased foreign pressure on the Syrian regime.

“It is time for the UN Security Council to act” on Syria, an official from the main opposition National Coalition told AFP on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The UN Security Council has been stalled over Syria for more than two years, with members Russia and China backing Assad and vetoing several draft resolutions that would have imposed sanctions on the regime.

“This is a massive issue, and the Security Council’s paralysis over Syria is no excuse,” the Coalition official said.

“The UN needs to immediately investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Should it find the regime used such weapons, it must act immediately, at least by imposing a no-fly zone,” he added.

“If the Security Council cannot break its paralysis, proof of the use of chemical weapons by the regime would open the way for others, such as NATO, to act.”

The National Coalition has accused the regime of using chemical weapons in the northern province of Aleppo, in Homs in the center of Syria and in rebel-held areas near Damascus.

04/26/2013 - AFP/NOW

Syria’s devastating conflict entered its third year on Friday with no agreement among EU leaders on British and French calls for an easing of the bloc’s embargo to allow arms supplies to the rebels.

With several member states expressing strong opposition, EU leaders at a summit in Brussels put off further discussions on the future of the arms embargo until a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Dublin next week.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy said that leaders had discussed easing it and “agreed to task our foreign ministers to assess the situation as a matter of priority” in Ireland.

Both London and Paris had warned they were ready to break ranks with their European partners to supply weapons to the rebels as their frustration mounts that diplomacy has failed to end the conflict.

But there appeared little appetite among other Europeans for lifting the ban, many fearing that a flood of weapons into Syria will only escalate the bloodshed.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said Vienna was not prepared to lift the ban. “We think the delivery of arms does not contribute to a possible solution,” he told reporters.

A Spanish diplomatic source said there was widespread hesitation about arming the rebels.

03/15/2013

Syria’s opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib on Saturday slammed world governments for failing to act to stop the bloodshed in Syria, nearly two years into a war that has left some 70,000 people dead.

Khatib made the remarks as he took part in Cairo in a demonstration which he described as “a message of protest to all governments of the world, Arab and non-Arab, that can see how the Syrian people are being killed, while they merely look on.”

“All the administrations of the world can see what is happening… We cannot visit any country until there is a clear decision on this savage, aggressive regime,” Khatib told the Dubai-based Al-Aan pan-Arab television in Cairo.

On Friday the opposition coalition said it will boycott an upcoming Friends of Syria meeting in Rome and cancelled planned visits to Washington and Moscow citing the “shameful” inaction of the international community.

The opposition wants world governments to turn into action their statements of support for the uprising against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are also seeking military assistance for rebels fighting the regime.

The UN Security Council has been blocked from acting on Syria by Russian and Chinese vetoes, while Western powers have become more hesitant to help the armed opposition to Assad’s regime for fear of the rise of radical Islamist groups.

Earlier, National Coalition spokesman Walid al-Bunni told France 24’s Arabic-language channel that the United States must honor promises of support for democracy in Syria.

“Our visit to Washington is on hold until Washington takes a stance that is in accordance with US statements on its support for democracy,” Bunni said.

“The United States is a leading force in the world, as are France, Britain and the European Union. All these have been unable to stop a butcher from committing massacres against our people,” he said, referring to Assad.

“We cannot continue listening to statements that are not accompanied by action… The world has a responsibility to protect [the Syrian people] from a butcher who has been slaughtering them for two years,” Bunni added.

02/23/2013

Syria’s opposition National Coalition said Thursday it would agree to any solution for a political transition as long as it excludes President Bashar al-Assad and his family.

“We will accept any political solution that does not include the Assad family nor those who harmed the Syrian people,” Coalition spokesperson Walid al-Bunni told a press conference in Istanbul.

“Our first condition for them is to leave the country,” Bunni said in remarks translated from Arabic, referring to the Assad family and the regime’s inner circle.

His comments came after international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi called for “real change” in Syria and the installation of a transitional government until elections can be held. But he made no mention on the fate of Assad, whose term expires in 2014.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 45,000 people since it began with a brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in March 2011, according to rights groups.

Western media reports have speculated on a new Russia-US initiative that would allow Assad to stay in power. Moscow has already denied the existence of any such joint plans.

12/27/2012

28/11/2012

Syria’s new opposition coalition held its first full meeting on Wednesday to discuss forming a transitional government but disagreements broke out at the outset, showing that President Bashar al-Assad’s foes remain deeply divided.

A transitional government is crucial to win effective Arab and Western support for the 20-month revolt against Assad, and would bolster the opposition as a democratic alternative to decades of autocratic rule in Syria.

The 60 or so delegates, chosen after talks in Qatar this month, are meeting in Cairo ahead of a gathering of the Friends of Syria, a grouping of dozens of nations that had pledged mostly non-military backing for the revolt but who are worried by the influence of Islamists in the opposition.

After the Syrian National Council (SNC), the first major opposition grouping formed in Istanbul last year that became dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, won scant international support, a Western and Gulf backed effort produced the new coalition earlier this month.

The SNC has 27 members in the new coalition and a clash immediately broke out as the meeting started as the council tried to increase its share, delegates at the meeting said.

“Nothing will proceed until we work this out,” said one SNC member at the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“This is not a salad you mix and add to at whim. The future of Syria is at stake and the Brotherhood is pushing more of its hawks into the coalition, although it already has half of the seats,” said another delegate.

He pointed to many non-coalition members who attended the meeting, or were present in the Cairo Hotel where the conference is taking place. Most were members of the Brotherhood or close to the group, which bore the brunt of a bloody repression by Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, in the 1980s.

“The problem is bigger than the Brotherhood issue. We do seem to be able to overcome a tribal quota mentality. It is just delaying discussing the serious issues of forming a government and responding to the international community,” said another delegate.

RELIGIOUS FIGURE OR LEADER?

Assad, who belongs to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam that has dominated power in Syria since the 1960s, has painted the opposition as Sunni extremists and al Qaeda followers and presented himself as the last guarantor for an undivided Syria.

The coalition’s head, Damascus preacher Moaz Alkhatib, has repeatedly rejected sectarianism, but Alkhatib is being increasingly seen as a religious figure who is respected inside Syria and an interlocutor with outside powers, rather than a hands-on leader.

“Most of the talking so far has been done by Riad Seif and Mustafa Sabbagh. Alkhatib barely said anything,” one delegate said.

Seif, a long time democracy campaigner and a former political prisoner, is one of two coalition vice presidents. Sabbagh, the coalition’s general secretary, is a businessman close to the Brotherhood.

The several-day conference will also select committees to manage aid and communications, a process that is developing into a power struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood on one side and secular members and independent Islamists on the other.

“The objective is to name the prime minister for a transitional government, or at least have a list of candidates ahead of the Friends of Syria meeting,” said Suhair al-Atassi, one of the coalition’s two vice-presidents.

Atassi is only one of three female members of the coalition, in which the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies account for around 40 to 45 percent.

Rivalries have also intensified between the opposition in exile and rebels on the ground, where the death toll has reached 40,000 after 20 months of violence. The rebels have become an increasingly formidable fighting force on the ground.

But the new coalition has given rise to hopes that Assad’s enemies can set aside their differences and focus on securing international support to remove him.

“We have ideological differences with the coalition, but it will achieve its mission if it brings us outside military help,” said Abu Nidal Mustafa, from Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist rebel unit in Damascus.

Liaison between the coalition and rebels has been assigned to former Prime Minister Riad Hijab, the highest ranking official to defect since the revolt, coalition sources said.

His name is also being touted as a possible prime minister but his history in Assad’s Baath Party could exclude him.

Another possible contender is Asaad Mustafa, a respected former agriculture minister under Assad’s late father. Mustafa, who now lives in Kuwait, left the country decades ago after protesting against Hafez’s policies.

Atassi said that major figures have been overlooked in the new coalition, such as veteran campaigners Aref Dalila, a prominent Alawite, and Fawaz Tello, and that efforts are needed to bring on board the main Kurdish political grouping, the Kurdish National Council, which has stayed away.

She added that, unlike the SNC, the new coalition would work with important figures even if they do not become full members.

She pointed to Adib al-Sheishakly, a grandson of a Syrian president who had quit the SNC in protest at what he regarded as elections rigged by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Sheishakly now works with the coalition on securing aid and economic support and told Reuters that he is confident the new group will not be a repeat of the SNC, partly because Alkhatib would provide a balance between competing groups.

“We have had academics as head of the opposition and they did not manage competing interests well. This is a smaller body and Alkhatib knows how to absorb everyone,” Sheishakly said.

But the coalition already faces a major test. It has not agreed on how to deal with international proposals that envisage a transitional period without requiring Assad to step down, an option deemed unthinkable by opposition groups in Syria.

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

CAIRO | Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:09am EST - REUTERS

Tunisia and Libya will both hold off on recognizing a new Syrian opposition body until they know more about its make-up, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said on Thursday.

The Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces was set up on November 11 under Western and Gulf Arab pressure, to unite diverse opposition voices.

Britain, France, Turkey and Gulf Arab countries have all recognized the coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Washington has pledged to work with the coalition, but stopped short of fully recognizing it.

“We and Libya are in agreement that we will wait before recognizing. We need to have a real idea about the representation on this body,” Marzouki told reporters at a news conference during a visit by Libyan leader Mohammed Magarief.

Separately, Marzouki said he would visit the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas held firm on Thursday with scenes of joy among the ruins in Gaza over what Palestinians hailed as a victory.

“I congratulate Ismail Haniyeh (the Hamas prime minister) on the victory in Gaza,” Marzouki said. “And I have told him I want to visit Gaza soon and open a Tunisian school there.”

“Tunisia and Libya agree that there should be an Arab summit to support Palestine.”

(Reuters) - Britain has officially recognised the fledgling Syrian National Coalition opposition group, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday.

“Her majesty’s government has decided to recognise the national coalition of Syrian revolution and opposition forces as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” Hague told parliament.

The coalition was formed earlier this month in Doha to unite Syria’s splintered opposition groups, in an attempt to boost their chances of securing foreign aid and arms in their bid to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that Turkey “recognizes the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the people of Syria.”

Davutoglu made the comments during a ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which is being held in Djibouti, according to Anatolia news agency.

Davutoglu also called on the international communtity to follow suit and give more support to the Syrian opposition, which emerged newly unified on Sunday after marathon talks in Doha.

On Tuesday, France became the first Western power to recognise the newly-formed opposition as the sole representative and said the question of arming them must now be reviewed.

The new coalition has also won support from Britain and the United States, which stopped short of declaring it a government-in-exile.

The leader of the new body, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, swiftly urged the world to arm the rebels with “specialized weapons” to “cut short the suffering of the Syrians” in the 20-month war which has killed some 37,000 people.

-AFP

#Syria Nov 14/12 Composition of new Syrian opposition coalition

Nov 13/12

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged world powers on Tuesday to recognize the newly formed Syrian opposition bloc.

“Our hope is that the different countries recognize the Syrian national coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people… France’s role is to make that hope possible,” Fabius told reporters in Cairo.

After four days of talks in the Qatari capital Doha, Syrian opposition groups agreed on Sunday to unite under the banner of the National Coalition, headed by moderate Muslim cleric Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Cairo welcomed the bloc and urged it to bring in more regime dissenters.

“The opposition has taken a huge step forward,” said Fabius, who met earlier with both Khatib and George Sabra, the head of the Syrian National Council, the powerful opposition group that finally agreed to join the wider, more representative bloc.

-AFP

Nov 12/2012

The Syrian crisis cannot be solved with simple quarantine methods, Turkish Ambassador to Washington Namık Tan has said, reiterating that Turkey and the United States are on the same page concerning the crisis.

”It is obvious that the Syrian crisis can’t be quarantined by palliative treatments,” said Tan. “We are on the same page with the U.S. on the cause of the Syrian crisis’ origin and the parameters of the solution,” he said. “Turkey’s expectations from the U.S. are similar to our expectations from the international community. We want to see an immediate end to the problem bordering Turkey before a spillover.”

Commenting on the Syrian opposition’s fractured structure, Tan echoed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s words in which she criticized the opposition Syrian National Council for not representing all Syrian opposition groups as an umbrella organization.” It is true that it has not been possible to achieve a complete reconciliation between the opposition groups in Syria since the beginning of the crisis,” said Tan. “But while criticizing the opposition in this manner, it also needs to take into account the background of the opposition movement. The fact that the political opposition in Syria has been prohibited for 40 years must not be forgotten. A trust problem among the opposition groups suffering from a lack of communication between each other is normal.”Touching on the possible deployment of NATO’s Patriot missile along the Turkish-Syrian border, Tan said: “We informed NATO a couple of times about the region and Syria. The contingency plans have been prepared by NATO to protect the borders of NATO. It is an ongoing process. So it is not a new development. And it is not possible to give the details about these plans until the work is done.”

On Iran, the second big challenge facing bilateral relations between Turkey and the U.S., Tan seems critical of the sanctions pursued by the Barack Obama administration and its effects on Turkish companies.

11/12/12 By Faisal Baatout (AFP) 

DOHA — Syria’s deeply divided opposition has agreed to unite against President Bashar al-Assad, electing a moderate cleric as leader in a move hailed by the West as a step towards a peaceful political transition.

After four days of marathon talks in Qatar, the Syrian National Council (SNC) on Sunday finally signed up to a wider, more representative bloc centred on a government-in-waiting, as demanded by Arab and Western states.

The breakthrough came amid Western concerns the Syrian conflict is increasingly spilling over its borders, after Israel fired a warning shot across the UN-monitored ceasefire line between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights.

Muslim cleric Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, 52, a Damascus moderate who quit Syria three months ago, was elected head of the new grouping, with prominent dissident Riad Seif and female opposition figure Suhair al-Atassi chosen as his deputies.

The United States swiftly declared its support for the new National Coalition.

“We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad’s bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

Britain and France also hailed the Doha agreement.

The Israeli warning shot came after a mortar round from the Syrian side hit an Israeli position.

It followed comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was “ready for any development” and as his defence minister warned a “tougher response” would follow.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon appealed Sunday to Israel and Syria to ease tensions on their disputed Golan frontier.

“The secretary general is deeply concerned by the potential for escalation,” said the UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

“He calls for the utmost restraint” and urges both side to uphold the 1974 accord which set up a ceasefire line and demilitarized zone which is patrolled by UN forces.

Syrian new opposition leader Khatib urged the international community to “fulfil its pledges”.

“Our people are subjected to a systematic genocide,” he said at the signing ceremony in Doha.

The newly-elected head of the SNC George Sabra said that Syrian rebels need weapons “not just bread and water.”

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Hassem Al-Thani said he would accompany Khatib on Monday to the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo.

“We will seek a full recognition of this new body,” Sheikh Hamad said.

Reservations in SNC ranks about what many members saw as a move to sideline it had prompted repeated delays in the Doha talks and mounting frustration among other dissident groups and the opposition’s Arab and Western supporters.

But after negotiations ran into the early hours of Sunday and resumed in the afternoon, the anti-Assad factions agreed to form a “National Coalition of Forces of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition.”

“We signed a 12-point agreement to establish a coalition,” said Seif, who championed the US-backed reform proposals on which the agreement was based.

In a copy of the document obtained by AFP, the parties “agree to work for the fall of the regime and of all its symbols and pillars,” and rule out any dialogue with Assad’s government.

They agreed to unify the fighting forces under a supreme military council and to set up a national judicial commission for rebel-held areas.

A provisional government would be formed after the coalition gains international recognition, and a transitional government after the regime has fallen.

Former Syrian premier Riad Hijab who defected in August hailed the agreement as “an advanced step towards toppling the regime.”

The deal came after the SNC, previously seen as the main opposition group, heeded Arab and Western pressure to embrace groups that had been unwilling to join its ranks.

Khatib, the imam of the central Umayyad mosque in Damascus before he was arrested for supporting the uprising, is seen as an independent as he is not linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or any other Islamist party.

His deputies also hail from mixed backgrounds, with Seif reportedly backed by Washington and Atassi belonging to a Homs family active in the secular opposition. A third vice president post will remain vacant for a Kurd.

There had been mounting pressure for an overhaul amid US-led accusations that the SNC had lost touch with civilian activists and rebels inside Syria and become little more than a talking shop for exiles.

Concern had been further raised by the fears of a spillover of the conflict as fighting raged on Syria’s borders with Iraq and Turkey as well as on the armistice line with the Israeli-occupied Golan.

Nationwide violence killed at least 86 people on Sunday, including 34 civilians, the Observatory said, among more than 37,000 who have lost their lives since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

By AL ARABIYA WITH AFP