Syria in a state of war: Assad
Violence continues in country
SYRIA is in a state of war, President Bashar al-Assad has said, ordering his cabinet to crush the anti-regime revolt even as fierce fighting broke out near the capital Damascus.
With the uprising now in its 16th month, Assad told his cabinet yesterday that Syria was in a “real situation of war”.
“When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory,” he said.
Turkey said it had issued fresh rules of engagement to its army in response to the shooting down by Syria of one of its fighter jets last Friday.
Across the country, the violence continued with at least 116 people killed yesterday according to the Observatory for Human Rights.
The fighting drew closer to the capital with clashes breaking out in the suburbs of Damascus between rebel forces and Syrian army units.
“Violent clashes are taking place around positions of the Republican Guard in Qudsaya and Al-Hama,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
It was the first time that artillery had been used “so close to the capital”, he added.
“This development is important because it’s the heaviest fighting in the area and close to the heart of the capital.”
Abu Omar, a spokesman for activists in the Damascus region, said that all communication had been cut off in and around Al-Hama and Qudsaya.
Regime forces had “stormed the areas with tanks”, he said. He also spoke of a “massacre”, but gave no further details.
The official Sana news agency reported that government forces had clashed with “armed terrorist groups” in AlHama, killing dozens and arresting others.
Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, moved to denounce Syria’s downing of its Phantom F-4 fighter jet in far more aggressive terms than his initial, cautious statements at the weekend.
Warned
“This is a hostile act… a heinous attack,” he said.
“The rules of engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces have changed given this new development,” Erdogan said.
He warned that any security or military risk posed by Syria on the Turkish border would be “considered a threat and treated as a military target”.
“This latest development shows that the Assad regime has become a clear and imminent threat to the security of Turkey, as well as for its own people,” he added.
Damascus has defended the downing of the jet, saying it was a response to “a gross violation” of its sovereignty as the jet had entered Syrian airspace.
But Nato condemned the action.
“It is another example of the Syrian authorities’ disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life,” Nato chief, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said. The jet’s two pilots are still missing.
Russia appealed for calm.
“We believe it is important that the incident is not viewed as a provocation or an intentional action, and that it does not lead to destabilising the situation,” said a Russian foreign ministry statement.
Washington rejected a Russian proposal for Iran to take part in a planned international conference on Syria in Geneva on Saturday.
“It is better to involve Iran in the settlement (of the Syrian crisis),” Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said. “In any case, it would complicate the process (if Iran is ignored).”
State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, told reporters in Washington however that the US did not think Iran could make a useful contribution given its support for the Damascus regime.
A senior official travelling with Clinton said the Geneva conference was threatened by Russia’s refusal to consider Assad’s departure, but that a deal might yet be done.
“The sticking point is a clear agreement that there needs to be a political transition,” the official said.
Amnesty International, meanwhile, denounced the Syrian regime for the torture and killing of three medics.
“The discovery of the charred and mutilated bodies of three young medical workers a week after their arrest in Aleppo city is yet further evidence of the Syrian government forces’ appalling disregard for the sanctity of the role of medical workers,” it said. – Sapa-AFP