24/10/12

A Syrian boy looks on in a newly built refugee camp. © AFP/Getty Images

By Charlotte Phillips, researcher on refugee and migrants’ rights at Amnesty International.
 
On 26 September 2012 at the United Nations General Assembly, David Cameron, the UK’s Prime Minister, accused the United Nations of inaction over the Syria conflict, stating: “The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of this United Nations.”

A few months earlier in June 2012, the European Council “strongly condemned the brutal violence and massacres of civilians and urged the Syrian regime to stop immediately its attacks against the civilian population”.

The human rights crisis in Syria is a major test for the EU in its own neighbourhood. In light of the recent announcement that it has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the European Union and its member states have an opportunity to live up to this recognition by taking decisive action to ensure that refugees fleeing Syria are protected.

However, despite widespread condemnation, lofty talk and finger pointing, the, international community – including the European Union - has thus far failed to place any effective pressure on the parties to the conflict in Syria to end the large-scale human rights and humanitarian law violations.

Nineteen months after the initially peaceful pro-reform protests erupted and were met with brutal repression, spiralling into an internal armed conflict, the UN Security Council remains paralysed by the prospect of Russia and China’s vetos and the inaction of its other members.

And while the international community dithers, civilian casualities - many of them children - continue to mount.

Estimates indicate that well over 24,000 people have died since the crisis began. In addition, over one million people have become displaced from their homes within Syria.

More than 350,000 refugees have registered or are awaiting registration in Syria’s neighbouring countries- namely Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

The UN predicts that by the end of the year 700,000 refugees will have fled to Syria’s neighbours. By contrast, the EU has only received 16,500 Syrian asylum seekers. 

While Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq have, on the whole, allowed large numbers of refugees to enter and remain on their territories, the sharply rising numbers crossing borders as the conflict worsens, makes it imperative for the international community to act decisively to share responsibility with neighbouring countries hosting them.

After all, if governments are really concerned about the fate of civillians in Syria, surely they are equally concerned for those forced to flee the country to seek safety. Assisting and protecting those who have managed to escape the bloodshed is the very least that the international community can do.

For this reason, Amnesty International is appealing to the European Union and its member states to take practical measures to assist those fleeing Syria.

Amnesty International proposes the EU takes the following concrete measures:

•    Ensure access to protection and fair asylum procedures for all Syrian asylum-seekers arriving in the EU

•    Ensure no refugees are returned to Syria until the situation has stabilised and their safety can be assured

•    Agree a common EU approach towards determining refugee claims

•    Adopt a generous interpretation of international protection

•    Lift obstacles to safety, such as visa requirements and overly burdensome family reunification procedures

Amnesty International is also calling on EU member states to share the responsibility and show solidarity by resettling refugees out of Syria, which is still hosting a large number of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees, as well as significant numbers of Somali, Afghan, Sudanese and Yemeni refugees.

Non-Iraqi refugees in particular face significantly increased exposure to protection risks during the current period of unrest due to their lack of documentation and/or visibility as foreigners.

The UN Refugee Agency is appealling to countries to provide resettlement places for these refugees and Amnesty International urges EU states to respond generously to this appeal.

European countries, as well as other donor countries, must also donate generously to the United Nations (UN) Syria Regional Response Plan. The UN, with its partners, has appealed for US$487.9 million to support the Syrian refugee operation. To date, the appeal is only 29 percent funded.

The rapidly growing numbers of refugees and the onset of winter mean even harsher conditions for refugees in neighbouring countries.

The need to support the humanitarian appeal has become all the more urgent.

30/09/12

Is it time for Arab intervention in Syria?

Qatar’s ruler says the UN’s failure to bring peace to Syria forced the Arab world to play a role in ending the conflict.

The Emir of Qatar has called on Arab militaries to help stop the bloodshed in Syria in a move that is widely seen as challenging UN efforts at resolving the 18-month conflict through negotiation.

But, addressing the UN General Assembly, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s message was clear - the UN has failed in its mission; it is now time for Arab intervention.

“We have used all available means to get Syria out of the cycle of killing, but that was in vain,” the emir said in an address in New York.

“In view of this, I think it is better for the Arab countries themselves to interfere out of their national, humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Syria.”

In a news conference on the sidelines of the assembly on Tuesday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, was highly critical of any foreign intervention in Syria. Ahmadinejad accused “outside forces” of meddling in the country - though he did not directly name any countries.

He warned that outside interference might throw the region into a new war, bringing, “short-term results”, but which he said would keep Syria in chaos and instability for decades to come.

Meanwhile Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister, has told Al Jazeera that Ahmadinejad is wrong to suggest that Arab forces in Syria would inflame the crisis.

He said: “The forces will not be going to Syria to fight. Their goal will be to stop what is going on in Syria. As you know, there were originally Arab forces which went there to observe the ceasefire in the past … and these forces, because they were few and not well equipped, could not stop the bloodbath …. There must be a sufficient number of peacekeeping forces and fighting in Syria must stop.”

To discuss the proposed Arab force, Inside Syria, with presenter Laura Kyle, speaks to gueats: Hassan Hachimi, a member of the general secretariat of the Syrian National Council; Elias Hanna, a military analyst and retired military general in the Lebanese army; and Joseph Kechichian, an independent Middle East analyst and columnist for Gulf News.

“The Syrian opposition are in a position – and they have been for a long time crying for any type of help to try and stop the bloodshed in Syria. We are in a situation where we are losing every single day 150-200 lives. And this has been going on for a year and a half – and today when I hear rhetoric of obstacles – of course none of the initiatives will be an easy one or a straight-forward solution – any proposal will definitely need a lot to make it work …. The Arabs are the first who would be expected to come forward and help the people of Syria.”

Hassan Hachimi, a member of the general secretariat of the Syrian National Council

28/09/12
By John Irish and Amena Bakr

(Reuters) - Western and Arab states demanding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s exit are under pressure to produce a plan to make that happen, but their unwillingness to act outside a deadlocked U.N. Security Council leaves them looking fractured and powerless.

Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from the “Friends of Syria” - a group that includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - are due to meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday.

“I just expect ideas to be presented. There will be no concrete plans,” Arab League Secretary General Nabil El-Erabi told Reuters. “Governments are not ready to put plans into action and the Security Council is not agreeing on anything.”

The 18-month uprising against Assad’s rule has killed around 30,000 people, according to activists. The protests have further escalated into an armed insurgency fighting with sectarian overtones that could drag in regional powers.

The General Assembly this week highlighted the global stalemate, with most of the 193-states condemning events in Syria but showing no substance behind their rhetoric.

Russia, which has three times vetoed a Security Council resolution on Syria, stuck to its position: Assad’s departure should not be a precondition for a political transition and under no circumstances will it support a U.N. resolution that could lead to military intervention.

Painting a bleak picture of mediation efforts, U.N.-Arab League representative Lakhdar Brahimi told the Security Council that the situation in Syria is worsening and Assad’s government is clinging to the hope of returning to the past. Five weeks into the job, he admitted he had no plan but “a few ideas.”

Opponents of the Syrian president look less united in their approach. Qatar, one of Assad’s strongest critics, called for an alternative plan and once again urged Arab states to create a regional force to stop the bloodshed.

But Saudi Arabian and Egyptian diplomats, representing the two countries most likely to compose such a force, told Reuters Qatar’s plans are unrealistic.

Egypt, under new Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, tried to bring together Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran - Assad’s main ally in the region - for talks on finding a solution, but failed to get them around the table for the second time.

President Barack Obama, preoccupied with his re-election bid on November 6, barely mentioned Syria in his address to delegates. Former colonial power France urged the U.N. to protect areas “liberated” in Syria, but officials acknowledged behind the scenes the calls were essentially symbolic.

FAILED MEDIATION

Most nations, including Russia and China, agree on the principles of a previously proposed six-point peace plan and framework of an accord struck in Geneva between the permanent members of the Security Council.

Both those plans are stillborn unless an agreement with Russia can be struck on how to ensure they are implemented.

“Unfortunately, all these mediations have failed,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Reuters. “We all support Lakhdar Brahimi, but we have learned that there must be a stronger mandate given to the special representative.”

He said the Friends of Syria was created to defend the rights of the Syrian people and not to undermine the United Nations. The group now seems as hamstrung as the Security Council.

Western and Arab diplomats describe Friday’s meeting as an opportunity to “exchange ideas.” The session will assess efforts to create an all-inclusive transitional government and increase humanitarian and non-lethal aid to the opposition.

France and Turkey have also called for no-fly zones patrolled by foreign aircraft to protect rebel-held areas. With the United States lukewarm, the proposal remains just an idea.

“We have obviously never at any point taken anything off the table,” a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ahead of Friday’s meeting. “We believe that there is still room for a negotiated transition that leads to an interim government and ultimately to a new Syria. This is not about drawing red lines.”

‘LEGITIMATE CHANNELS’

One senior Gulf Arab diplomat echoed the U.S. position, warning against any direct military intervention. He said Arab states see the United States as key to breaking the deadlock.

“Going through legitimate channels to resolve the issue is the best path to take; any action taken by individual countries will only lead to more violence,” he said.

“The U.S. is the only country that could force Russia to change its position,” the diplomat said, adding that he sees no real move on the crisis until after the U.S. election.‬‪

With the main political opposition bodies fragmented, the Friends of Syria’s main push could centre on developing contacts with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), particularly as its fighters oust Assad’s forces from significant portions of the country.

Western European powers have ruled out supplying weapons to lightly armed Syrian rebels, but France is increasing its links with insurgents. “The more the opposition advances the easier it will become,” the Arab League’s El-Arabi said.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been overseeing cross-border movements from a secret liaison centre in Turkey. Turkey denies any direct involvement in sending arms across the frontier. U.N. diplomats say Saudi Arabia and Qatar have transferred weapons to rebels.

“The Friends of Syria can’t do much,” said a Paris-based Arab diplomat. “It’s sit, wait and hope the rebels gain ground.”

(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Will Dunham)

27/09/12

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Tehran was working to set up a separate contact group on the conflict in Syria, in a move unlikely to be welcomed by many nations.

“We do believe that through a national dialogue and a national understanding and consensus, they can, the various Syrian sides, reach a more solid conclusion, a more tangible and long-lasting conclusion,” the Iranian leader told a press conference in New York.

“Therefore we strive to pave the way for national dialogue and national understanding between the two sides and we are working hard to stand up and shape a contact group from various countries.”

He refused to divulge which nations had been approached by Iran to join the group, saying he was hopeful the Iranian foreign ministry would make an announcement in the coming days.

Tehran is already included in another so-called “contact group,” involving Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and has called for sending observers to Syria in an effort to quell the violence there.

There is a separate Friends of Syria group headed by the United States and grouping some 60 nations, which will meet Friday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss the conflict in which an estimated 29,000 people have been killed.

Speaking through a translator to journalists, Ahmadinejad accused “outside forces” of meddling in Syria, without directly naming any countries.

The Syrian issue “has become incredibly complicated because of the meddling of outside forces,” he said.

He warned that outside interference might yield “short-term results, but for decades to come it will keep Syria in complete chaos and instability.”

“The social fabric of Syria does not have the capacity to allow some tribal groups to gain the reins of power through warfare. And if followed will bring with itself subsequent warfare.”

He did not address charges from the United States that Iran is arming the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which is engaged in a brutal suppression of an 18-month-old rebellion.

Instead, the Iranian leader insisted his Islamic republic was working for peace.

“I am hopeful that all of those who beat the drums of war can come to understand the sensitive conditions of Syria. The European countries and America as well,” he said.

“No-one should meddle or interfere in the internal affairs of Syria. Anything that the people of Syria decide upon must be respected by all.”

-AFP

27/09/12

Video: Syrian children given electric

shocks and forced to watch other

kids die

Charity group Save the Children has released a shocking report, entitled ‘Untold Atrocities, The Story of Syria’s Children’, which reveals shocking atrocities committed against children. The report based on personal accounts, reveals that many children in Syria have faced torture, imprisonment and abduction from both the Bashar al-Assad regime and the opposition groups during the 18 month civil war.

A Save the Children’s spokesperson said: “The stuff I’ve heard from children is absolutely appalling. I’ve heard of children as young as 10 being tortured. I’ve heard of children, as young as eight, helping to remove dead bodies from rubble with their own hands.”

The report revealed that some children were even given electric shocks, while tormenters made them watch the dying moments of other children, and that nearly all the children had witnessed the death of at least one family member.

The Save the Children study also coincides with the start of the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting, ahead of which Lakhdar Brahimi, UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria, said the situation in the country is extremely bad and getting worse. The veteran Algerian diplomat, who has visited Syrian refugee camps in neighbouring countries, once again stressed the need for a complete change in the political atmosphere of the country.

Written and presented by Ann Salter.

27/09/12

UNITED NATIONS — Arab ministers on Wednesday weighed calls for an Arab intervention in the Syria conflict, while Western nations pressed Russia and China to drop opposition to international action.

Arab ministers met with UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki said later his country could support an Arab peacekeeping force in Syria. Others have doubts though.

“A peacekeeping operation by Arab nations is something we could well imagine,” Marzouki told AFP, calling President Bashar al-Assad “a bloodthirsty dictator.”

“We have really pushed for a peaceful solution, but if it is necessary, it must be an Arab peacekeeping force, yes.”

On Tuesday, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, called at the UN General Assembly for an Arab intervention in Syria.

Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi told reporters he did not believe the emir intended a “fighting force.”

But he told a Security Council meeting on the Middle East that the council must support Brahimi by making its resolutions on Syria “binding on all parties.”

Russia and China have used their powers as permanent members of the council three times to block resolutions which could have led to potential sanctions.

Western diplomats say they do not expect Russia, Syria’s main ally, to weaken its defense of Assad. But they say China, which does not have the same strategic interests, may now be feeling pressure from Arab and other nations over its position.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed for the “paralyzed” council to make a new attempt to reach an accord on taking measures over the conflict.

“The atrocities mount while the Security Council remains paralyzed and I would urge that we try once again to find a path forward,” Clinton told the Middle East meeting.

France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said it was “shocking” that the council had been unable to act in the 18 months since the uprising against Assad started.

“As the international community, we must be united to stop the violence and help initiate a process of political transition. We must find a common response. We owe it to the people,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

None of the ministers have specifically mentioned Russia or China, but diplomats said the targets are clear and that the campaign is also being waged on a wider stage.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that the tens of thousands of deaths in Syria conflict had become a “terrible stain” on the reputation of the United Nations.

“The future for Syria is a future without Assad,” Cameron told the 193-member assembly, highlighting a report this week that outlined the horror suffered by children who have seen killings and been tortured in the conflict.

“The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of this United Nations,” Cameron said.

“And in particular, a stain on those who have failed to stand up to these atrocities and in some cases aided and abetted Assad’s reign of terror.”

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov showed no sign of changing tack and said violence by the government and opposition had to be condemned.

“A significant share of the responsibility for the continuing bloodshed rests upon the states that instigate the opponents of Bashar al-Assad to reject a ceasefire and dialogue and demand an unconditional capitulation of the regime,” he told the Middle East meeting.

China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was more defensive.

“China has faithfully fulfilled its obligations and acted as a positive force in seeking a political solution to the issue,” he said.

“China is ready to join the rest of the international community in an unremitting effort to resolve the Syrian issue in a just, peaceful and appropriate way.”

27/09/12

Mr Cameron has put his finger on a genuine problem at the very heart of the world order: how is the international community, an inherently disparate body, to take a stand against a regime that stops at nothing to stay in power, if the UN General Assembly has no clout and the Security Council is stymied by China and Russia? That is the chief problem in mustering an organised UN response to the crisis in Syria: two of the biggest powers on the Security Council are, effectively, on the regime’s side.

In the case of Libya, the British and French stretched a UN mandate to defend civilians to the point of military intervention against President Gaddafi. Partly as a result of this, the Russians and Chinese are more obdurate and wary in the case of Syria.

But there is also the reality that the civil war in Syria has reached a point where sanctions would be more token than effective. The war rages everywhere, even in the heart of the capital. And it is not only between religious and political factions but a proxy war for Syria’s neighbours — including Iran on one side, Saudi Arabia on the other. Mr Cameron is right to condemn the regime’s tactics but it is by no means clear that the rebels, who include jihadist elements, would be a moderate and unifying alternative. We should be thinking harder about containing the war and especially its toxic effects on neighbouring Lebanon.

The Prime Minister has made a good showing on the world stage. He has not made the mistake of claiming an ethical foreign policy — but that’s effectively what it is.

04/08/12

Syrian artillery, planes and a helicopter gunship pounded rebel positions in Aleppo as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces tried to break through opposition fighters’ frontline in Syria’s largest city.

Clashes were also reported on Saturday between government forces and rebels around Aleppo’s television and radio station.

“It was the most violent shelling of Salaheddin since the outbreak of fighting in Aleppo” on July 20, said the Free Syrian Army’s military chief, Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based group opposed to the Assad regime.

“It is not the first time the army has tried to storm Salaheddin,” al-Oqaidi added. 

Syrian television said a large number of “terrorists”, the term it uses for the rebels, were killed and wounded after they tried to storm the television and radio station in Aleppo.

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Zeidan, reporting from Aleppo, said: “There has been heavy bombardment in different neighbourhoods in Aleppo: in Shaar, in Bab al-Nayrab and al-Sakhour. We have no information on casualties.

“We have witnessed fighter [jets] bombing heavily in these neighbourhoods.”

He said the violence followed the capture by the Free Syrian Army of different sections in Old Aleppo on Saturday.

Aleppo is home to 2.5 million people and the fate of Salaheddin district, seen as a gateway for the army, could determine the outcome of the conflict that has already claimed some 18,000 lives.

Government ‘retakes’ Damascus

In Damascus, the Syrian capital, regime forces retook Tadamun on Saturday, the last remaining rebel bastion, after heavy shelling.

A brigadier-general told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that regime forces retook the southern district at 2pm (1100 GMT).

Violence also broke out in the Jobar area of Damascus, the SOHR said, adding that the violence killed at least six people in a Damascus province on Saturday.

Heavy explosions shook the city on Saturday and helicopters circled overhead as rebels appeared to be renewing their offensive in the city, witnesses and activists said.

“We have cleansed all the districts of Damascus, from Al-Midan to Mazzeh, from Al-Hajar Al-Aswad to Qadam… to Tadamun,” said the brigadier-general, who led the military operation in Tadamun, refusing to give his name.

“The (rebel) Free Syrian Army has withdrawn from Tadamun,” anti-regime activist Lena al-Shami told AFP in Beirut, the capital of neighbouring Lebanon, by Skype.

“But the FSA is everywhere in the capital. They cannot and will not take control of any area here in Damascus. Instead, they are resorting to hit-and-run tactics against important regime targets.”

‘Acts of brutality’

Syria’s unrest has intensified in the past few weeks, with fighting engulfing Damascus and Aleppo for the first time in the 17-month uprising against Assad family rule.

The FSA has launched increasingly bold attacks in the two main cities and established strongholds in relatively central neighbourhoods in recent days.

The rebel army had claimed to have consolidated most of its control in the east of Aleppo, while also maintaining a grip on central neighbourhoods, including Salaheddin and Bab al-Hadid.

Internet and telephone networks in Aleppo were mostly cut for the fourth day on Saturday, hampering attempts by rebels to co-ordinate and forcing them to use couriers to deliver orders.

Meanwhile, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said “acts of brutality” reported in Aleppo could be crimes against humanity. His comments came before the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution deploring the Security Council for lack of action.

The UN chief has warned world powers they must overcome their rivalries to put an end to a “proxy war” in Syria.

U.N.: More than 8,000 have been killed in Syrian crisis #Syria

The bombardment of Homs this month prompted talk of Syria’s “Benghazi moment” - when Western, and Arab, powers would feel compelled to intervene as they did in Libya. (Reuters)

By Alastair Macdonald
REUTERS LONDON

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby said said that the forthcoming meeting in Tunisia will put extra pressure on Syria. (Reuters)

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

By Al Arabiya with Agencies
 

The New Zealand Government has summoned representatives from the Syrian embassy in Canberra for talks as international concern grows over the violence in the country.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is not known at this stage when the meeting with the official will take place.

About 100 Syrian protesters gathered in Auckland’s Aotea Square on Saturday to call on the international community to intervene.

One of the protesters, Ali Aqil of the Syrian Solidarity movement, says the group wants the New Zealand Government to send aid, especially medical supplies, to the country.

Last week, the UN General Assembly demanded an immediate halt to Syria’s brutal crackdown on dissent, which human rights groups say has cost more than 6000 lives in the past 11 months.

Deaths mount in #Syria as General Assembly meets

United Nations (CNN) — The United Nations General Assembly passed Thursday by an overwhelming margin a nonbinding resolution endorsing the Arab League plan for the Syrian president to step down. The vote was 137 in favor and 12 against, with 17 abstentions.

“Today, the U.N. General Assembly sent a clear message to the people of Syria: the world is with you,” said U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice in a statement. “Bashar al-Assad has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come.”

The symbolic resolution that condemns President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown in Syria was introduced into the assembly after China and Russia blocked the Security Council from approving enforceable measures aimed at curbing the violence. China and Russia were among the no votes on Thursday.

Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari lashed out at the vote, calling the League of Arab States “broken, both politically and morally.” He added that, “If things continue in this manner … the United Nations will collapse — morally first and entirely second.”

The resolution marks the strongest U.N. statement to date condemning al-Assad’s regime. It calls on Syria to end human rights violations and attacks against civilians immediately, and condemns violence by al-Assad’s forces and the opposition.

For nearly a year, al-Assad has denied reports that his forces are targeting civilians, saying they were fighting armed gangs and foreign fighters bent on destabilizing the government.

But the vast majority of accounts from within the country say that Syrian forces are slaughtering civilians as part of a crackdown on anti-government opposition calling for al-Assad’s ouster.

It is unclear what, if any, effect the resolution will have on what many world leaders see as a relentless campaign by al-Assad’s forces to stamp out opposition.

The General Assembly’s vote followed news that France is bringing another resolution before the U.N. Security Council. “We are currently renegotiating a resolution at the U.N Security Council to see if we can persuade the Russians,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told radio station France Info on Wednesday.

Russia is seen as the linchpin in winning passage of a resolution that could force change in Syria because it could open al-Assad’s regime up to U.N. sanctions. It also could expose the president and his inner circle to possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

Syria is not a signatory of the Rome Statute that established the ICC’s authority. The Security Council is the only world body that can refer crimes against humanity to the international court.

Russia, a Soviet-era ally with trade and arms ties to Syria, has been adamantly opposed to a resolution that calls for al-Assad to step down, saying it amounts to a mandate for regime change.

Russia has given mixed messages as to whether it would accept a U.N. arms embargo or economic sanctions, even though it has said it is concerned about the prospect of a Syrian civil war.

Meanwhile, China announced Thursday that it was sending an envoy to Syria in an attempt to help defuse the crisis, according to state-run China National Radio (CNR).

Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun is scheduled to travel Friday to Syria for a two-day visit, CNR said. The report did not say with whom the minister would meet.

The diplomatic developments come amid reports Thursday that Syrian forces shelled the flashpoint city of Homs for a 13th consecutive day, targeting the opposition stronghold neighborhoods of Bab Amr, Inshaat and Khailidya, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group.

But Syrian security forces appeared to be losing their tight grip in the northern region.

Government troops were stretched thin in their effort to control all fronts in the volatile country, where the revolt has entered its 12th month.

Heavy sustained bombardment that resumed around 5 a.m., and dozens of injuries were reported.

In Idlib province in the northwest, people appeared to be preparing for the possibility of a military offensive. Much of the region is in open revolt with villages and towns in the north out of government control for months.

At least 70 people died Thursday across several provinces, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group. They include 38 in Idlib, 12 in Hama, and others in Rif Damashq — the Damascus suburbs, Homs, Daraa , Deir Ezzor and Raqqah. The LCC said the casualties included 36 unidentified bodies, 13 soldiers and three women, at least one of whom was pregnant.

Col. Malek Al Kurdi, deputy head of the Free Syrian Army, reported shelling by government forces in Hama and Daraa province. He cited civilian and FSA casualties.

Among the dead are 10 military defectors in Hama, activists say.

In Idlib, the bodies of 19 people who had tried to flee to Turkey were found. The LCC said they were arrested and executed by security forces.

The LCC also said security forces and pro-government militias attacked mourners at a funeral in Damascus.

Security forces raided homes in the city of Zabadani, outside Damascus, and arrested more than 250 people. Shops were looted, houses were burned and regime gunfire rang out in the city, in its 20th day without access to medicine, water or electricity, the LCC said. The LCC said a father and son died in Zabadani after regime forces burned their home.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition and government reports of violence because the Syrian government has severely restricted the access of international journalists. Arrests in central Damascus on Thursday reportedly targeted local journalists.

The regime’s security forces raided the office of activist and journalist Mazen Darwish, the director of the Syrian Center for Media and Free Expression, the LCC said.

Darwish, his wife, U.S.-born blogger Razan Ghazzawi, and freelance journalist Hanada Zahlout, blogger Hussein Ghreir and 10 others were arrested.

The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced alarm at the arrests and said the group has played a “key role in getting out information about daily developments in Syria, as foreign journalists are virtually banned from the country.”

“These arrests are a blatant attempt to close off a vital source of information not only for Syrians but for the international media,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “Anyone, whether a professional journalist or citizen with a mobile phone, who dares to report on the unrest in Syria is in danger of arrest or physical violence. Damascus should immediately release all those detained and stop its brutal crackdown.”

Syria map

The uprising in Syria — influenced by the Arab Spring movement that forced regime change in Egypt and Tunisia — was sparked about a year ago in the southern city of Daraa with demonstrators angered by the arrests of young people who scrawled anti-government graffiti.

Their grievances and calls for reforms were met with a violent security crackdown, and the unrest there served to catalyze anti-government protests across the nation.

Thousands have died in the crackdown — more than 5,000, according to the United Nations, but the LCC puts the toll at more than 7,000.

Syria’s actions have been denounced around the world. But international powers have backed the Arab League’s efforts to deal with the uprising and some countries and groups, such as the Arab League, Turkey, the United States and the European Union, have initiated sanctions against al-Assad’s government.

James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, predicted that Syria’s president will not leave or change course, short of a coup. Clapper testified Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, saying the regime, despite economic problems, continues to have the support of the military.

Prior to Thursday’s vote, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he “is now considering all the necessary options once either the General Assembly or the Security Council takes a decision on Syria.”

He met Thursday with Juppe. Ban said the top priority was to stop the violence and establish humanitarian access. He said all relevant U.N. agencies were coordinating efforts to provide humanitarian help to the people of Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has indicated Moscow may be open to supporting a Security Council resolution that stipulates — under certain conditions — that peacekeepers could be deployed to Syria.

“If the issue is about stopping gunfire, everything is possible,” Lavrov said at joint a news conference with his Dutch counterpart Uri Rosenthal, according to state-run RIA-Novosti news agency.

CNN’s Richard Roth reports from the United Nations. CNN’s Ivan Watson reports from northern Syria. CNN’s Arwa Damon reports from Homs. CNN’s Saad Abedine, Joyce Joseph, Joe Sterling, Mick Krever, Adam Levine, Salma Abdelaziz and journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.

A letter seen by Reuters and signed by 14 ambassadors, including those of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Qatar and Kuwait, asks for Syria’s situation to be discussed at the 58-member UNESCO executive board meeting on February 27.

“UNESCO must respond to these appeals for concerted action to address the egregious human rights situation in Syria,” an explanatory memo attached to the letter said.
“The situation in Syria challenges UNESCO’s basic constitutional objectives, in particular to further respect for justice, for the law and for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said the letter, which was drafted in December.

More than 5,000 people have been killed since a revolt erupted in March against President Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to the United Nations. Damascus says “terrorists” have killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police.

“We have received the letter,” said a Paris-based Arab diplomat. “These are ideas circulating ahead of the executive board meeting and the question is what is the legal basis?”

Exploratory meetings were taking place this week and early next week to decide the matter.

The Arab diplomat said it was possible the committee could condemn Syria, which would probably be backed by Arab League states. But it was unclear whether Damascus could be expelled from the body as that decision generally can only be made by the U.N. General Assembly, which happens once every two years.

“I am not aware that UNESCO has ever before expelled a member state from one of its committees, or passed a resolution condemning Syria, so both actions would be unprecedented,” Geneva-based NGO UN Watch said in a statement.

Officials at UNESCO could not be reached for comment.

The letter was signed by major Western powers plus Denmark, Spain, Chile, Slovakia, Qatar and Kuwait and diplomats said support from more countries was likely.

A U.N. commission of inquiry in November said Syrian military and security forces had committed crimes against humanity including murder, torture and rape, putting the blame on Assad’s government.

An Arab League monitoring team in Syria has been diminished by the pullout of Gulf Arabs in frustration at persisting violence and the 22-member body has called for U.N. support in getting Assad to hand over power to a unity government.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Dozens of army deserters have been shot dead by Syrian troops as they tried to flee their bases and join anti-government protests, reports say.

Activists say more than 900 people have died while Syria wavered on whether to agree to the Arab plan

Activist groups said more than 70 defectors were gunned down in the north-western Idlib province.

They said Monday’s death toll across the country could exceed 110 - which if true would make it one of the deadliest days of the uprising.

Damascus earlier agreed to an Arab League deal to allow monitors in.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said the Arab League had accepted amendments demanded by Damascus.

The Arab League said an advance team of observers would go to Syria this week.

In a separate development, the UN General Assembly voted by a strong majority to condemn the Syrian authorities for the crackdown, which has left some 5,000 people dead since the protests against President Bashar al-Assad began in March.

The non-binding resolution - passed by a vote of 133 to 11, with 43 abstentions - demanded an immediate end to human rights abuses and called on Damascus to implement the Arab League plan.

Deal ‘amendments’

On Monday, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a soldier who defected had reported the deaths of 60-70 army deserters by machine-gun fire in Idlib province - the main stronghold for army defectors.

“They were killed while trying to run away from their military positions on the way between the villages of Kensafra and Kefer Quaid, in Zawyia Mountain, in Idlib district,” the group said.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem: “We do not seek to waste time. It is us seeking a solution”

The Observatory said another 40 people had died across the country, including three government soldiers were killed in fighting with armed rebels in Idlib.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission - a coalition of 40 opposition grassroots groups - said the number of defecting soldiers who died in Idlib reached 72.

Overall, it said, 114 people had died across the country on Monday, a toll which included nine deaths in Deraa and nine in Homs.

The claims cannot be independently verified as foreign media are banned from reporting in Syria.

The government of President Assad says it is fighting armed gangs, trying to destabilise Syria.

The alleged shooting of the deserters came just hours after Damascus finally put its signature to the Arab League deal to deploy observers in Syria.

After the protocol was signed at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus had agreed because it wanted help to find a “political solution”.

“We want to emerge from this crisis and build a safe, modern Syria - a Syria that will be a model of democracy,” he said.

“The signing of the protocol is the beginning of co-operation between us and the Arab League and we will welcome monitors.”

He said Syria’s sovereignty would be protected because the Arab League had agreed to amendments to the deal, which also calls for all violence to be halted, for the withdrawal of troops from the streets and the release of detainees.

The observers would be “free” in their movements and “under the protection of the Syrian government”, he added, but would not be allowed to visit sensitive military sites.

Mr Muallem said he was confident that the observers would support the government’s assertion that “armed terrorist groups” were stirring up trouble, and targeting security personnel and civilians.

Damascus ‘manoeuvring’

The Arab League’s Secretary General, Nabil al-Arabi, told reporters that an advance party led by one of his assistants would travel to Syria in the next two or three days to prepare for the arrival of monitors.

The observers will have a one-month mandate that can be extended by another month if both sides agree.

But the leader of the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group, dismissed the government’s decision as “just a ploy”.

The BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says there is much scepticism in activist circles about the government’s willingness to implement a peace plan which could result in large parts of the country falling out of its control.

Since mid-November, Syria wavered on whether to agree to the deployment of observers, prompting the Arab League to impose a range of economic sanctions.

In that time, more than 900 civilians have been killed by Syrian security forces, including 80 children and 29 women, according to the LCC.