- NEW: Violence rages in Aleppo and other cities
- Bashar al-Assad: "The enemy is among us and is using inside agents to destabilize"
- France takes the presidency of the U.N. Security Council, promising to make Syria a priority
- International Crisis Group: Several factors suggest Syria's civil war is far from over
Are you in Syria? Share your stories, videos and photos with the world on CNN iReport.
(CNN) -- Syria's president exhorted his country's armed forces on Wednesday to restore stability to his nation, reeling from a growing grass-roots armed resistance.
"The enemy is among us and is using inside agents to destabilize the country and the security of its citizens," President Bashar al-Assad said, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
Al-Assad made his remarks during a crucial stage in the nearly 17-month-long national uprising -- the battle for control of Aleppo, the country's most populous city and commercial hub, and the growing resistance in volatile cities with an anti-regime presence, such as Damascus and its suburbs, Homs, Daraa, and Deir Ezzor.
The occasion was the 67th anniversary of the founding of the Syrian Arab Army. Al-Assad addressed the armed forces in a statement published by the People's Army magazine.
The statement was published on SANA, citing the magazine, and read on his behalf by an anchor on Syrian State TV. He tried to instill confidence in an army stretched by the conflict and beset with defections.
The enemy, he said, "continues to drain our economic and scientific resources in an attempt to weaken us and prevent us from determining our own future."
"Today, as every day, our people look to you as you defend their honor and dignity and give the nation back its stability and give the people a sense of security and comfort and morale," the president said.
At least 10 people were killed across Syria on Wednesday, including six in Damascus and its suburbs, the opposition network Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
The LCC reported intense artillery shelling in Aleppo, Homs, Daraa, the Damascus suburbs, and the Homs province town of Rastan. Opposition groups reported fighting in two Damascus neighborhoods, Bab Tuma and Bab Sharqi.
The neighborhoods, traditionally Christian and pro-Assad, were breached by rebels for the first time, opposition forces said. That's significant because pro-regime enclaves are typically well-fortified by government forces.
The global debate on what to do about Syria will likely get renewed attention this week, as France assumes the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
France will call for a meeting this week to "try and stop the massacres and prepare for the political transition" in Syria, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told French RTL radio on Monday.
But several signs indicate Syria's civil war is far from over, the International Crisis Group said in a report Wednesday.
The combination of a regime desperately fighting for survival; an Alawite sect that believes its fate hinges entirely on the regime's; and an opposition that is threatened by radicalization could indicate a prolonged civil war, the conflict resolution group said.
"The regime will not succeed in suppressing the armed groups; if anything, its ruthless practices have guaranteed a virtually limitless pool of recruits prepared to fight with the opposition at any cost," the Crisis Group said.
"Rhetoric also matters, as does the content of transition plans. When the opposition says it will topple the regime, what Alawites hear is that their source of income, employment, and physical protection will be eliminated."
The president belongs to the minority Alawite sect.
The Syrian National Council -- which has been recognized internationally as a legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition -- has been the main and most visible opposition group, but others have emerged.
One prominent opposition figure, Haitham al-Maleh, formed a new group, the Council for the Syrian Revolution after he resigned from what he called an ineffective SNC. The group consists of about 45 Syrian expatriates.
"After months of negotiations, my brothers tasked me with forming the Council for the Syrian Revolution," al-Maleh said. He said the new group consists of about 45 Syrian expatriates.
The new organization's first goal is to create a transitional government after consulting all facets of the Syrian opposition -- including the SNC, the rebel Free Syrian Army and activists on the ground.
One senior member of the SNC sloughed off al-Maleh's move.
"Haitham al-Maleh works alone and is not representative of the Syrian people inside or outside of Syria," SNC member Basil Kuwaifi said.
"We are against formation of such (a) government because we all know it must have international support, and the person who will head it must be chosen by the Syrians themselves, not several dozen opposition figures from the Committee of Trustees of the Revolution who decided to appoint him to form this government out of Cairo."
The Syrian crisis started when al-Assad's security forces launched a violent crackdown on peaceful protests in March 2011. That clampdown spurred a nationwide uprising and led to the appearance of armed rebels, including military defectors and other fighters battling under the rubric of the Free Syrian Army.
The conflict has claimed roughly 17,000 lives, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week. Opposition activists put the toll at more than 20,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment