France ready to guard Syrian air space
Defence minister urges other countries to join in backing a partial no- fly zone
BEIRUT — France signalled Thursday that it was prepared to take part in enforcing a partial no- fly zone over Syria, piling pressure on President Bashar Assad’s embattled regime as it widens a major offensive against rebels in Damascus and surrounding areas.
French Defence Minister Jean- Yves Le Drian urged the international community to consider backing a no- fly zone over parts of Syria, but cautioned that closing the Arab nation’s entire air space would be tantamount to “going to war” and require a willing international coalition that does not yet exist.
He told France 24 television that Paris would participate in a full no- fly operation if it followed international legal principles. But for now, he suggested that a partial closure — which U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington was considering — should be studied.
Syria’s chief backer, Russia, meanwhile, said it was working closely with the Damascus government to ensure that its arsenal of chemical weapons stays under firm control and has won promises that it will not be used or moved.
In Syria, troops backed by tanks and helicopters broke into the Damascus suburb of Daraya, the scene of intense fighting over the last two days. At least 18 people were killed.
Across the country, at least 100 people died Thursday in shelling and clashes, according to the Britain- based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees.
The bloodshed coincided with the departure from the Syrian capital of the last of the United Nations military observers after their mission failed. The observers were part of a sixpoint peace plan by outgoing envoy Kofi Annan.
As the country slides deeper into civil war, activist groups now routinely report the deaths of anywhere between 100 and 250 people on a daily basis, but it is virtually impossible to verify these figures.
Residents of Damascus said troops were bombing Daraya and nearby Moadamiyeh from the Qasioun mountain overlooking Damascus.
“It’s just another regular day in Damascus,” said a resident of the city of 1.7 million, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “I woke up to the sound of explosions and it hasn’t stopped since.”
In the eastern part of the country, Syrian rebels fought with regime troops in the town of al- Bukamal, across the border from the Iraqi town of Qaim. The border crossing has been in rebel hands since last month, but wresting control of al- Bukamal itself from regime troops would expand the opposition foothold along the frontier.
The opposition already controls a wide swath of territory along the border with Turkey in the north, as well as pockets along the frontier with Jordan to the south and Lebanon to the west. Together, they have proven key to ferrying people and supplies into and out of the country.
Rebels have been fighting troops for days in al- Bukamal and early Thursday took over several checkpoints, the main police station and the local command of the Political Security Directorate, one of Syria’s powerful intelligence agencies, according to Rami Abdul- Rahman, who heads the Observatory. “There is an attempt to take full control of al- Bukamal,” Abdul- Rahman said.
The Local Coordination Committees said warplanes bombed al- Bukamal, but Abdul- Rahman said the jets were flying over the town and struck nearby areas, not the town itself. At least six people were killed, activists said.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that an American freelance journalist who has been reporting from Syria for The Post, McClatchy Newspapers and other outlets had not been heard from in more than a week. Austin Tice, 31, spent time with rebel fighters in the north after entering Syria from Turkey in May, then travelled to Damascus, where he was one of the few Western journalists reporting from the capital.
“We’re focused intensively on trying to ascertain his whereabouts and ensure his safe return,” Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli said.