Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Officials from Islamic nations vote to suspend Syria from group










STORY HIGHLIGHTS



  • Heads of state from the OIG would need to approve the suspension for it to take effect

  • A U.N. official will visit Syria to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis

  • A Syrian envoy will visit China on Tuesday; China considers inviting the opposition

  • At least 114 people were killed in Syria on Monday, an opposition group says





(CNN) -- Foreign ministers of Islamic countries have agreed to suspend Syria from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, ahead of the group's two-day emergency summit this week.

The Syrian civil war is one of the main items on the agenda, which opens Tuesday in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

"There is an agreement to support the Syrian people, and standing by their side, we are agreeing on freezing the membership of Syria until it retains its balance," Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafiq Abdul Salam said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

The heads of state must approve the suspension before it can take effect.








 A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG as a Syrian Army tank shell hits a building across a street during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighbourhood of central Aleppo on Saturday, August 11.























































































































































































































































































































































































































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Photos: Showdown in Syria


But the agreement did nothing to quell the violence inside Syria, where another wave of shelling rained on suburban Damascus and the southern town of Tafas on Tuesday, opposition activists said.

A top U.N. official will begin a three-day trip to Syria and Lebanon on Tuesday to "draw attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria" as well as the plight of those trying to flee the violence. the United Nations said.

Valerie Amos, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, will visit Damascus and Beirut, the international body said.

Meanwhile, a Syrian official will visit China on Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said. China, along with Russia, has repeatedly refused to take stronger action against the Syrian regime at the U.N. Security Council.

A spokesman for the ministry said Bouthaina Shaaban will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

"To promote the political solution to the Syria problem, China has always actively balanced its work between the Syrian government and the opposition to urge Syria to put to practice (former Arab League and U.N. envoy Kofi) Annan's suggestions and advice by the U.N. Security Council -- immediately cease fire and all violent actions, protect civilians and resolve the crisis through talks," the spokesman said.

"Meanwhile, China is also considering inviting members of the Syrian opposition to visit," the ministry said in a statement.

While the seesaw war rages on, Syrian rebels claimed one of their biggest achievements yet -- the shooting down of a military jet on Monday.

Video posted by the rebel forces shows a jet framed in a cloudless sky being shot at, catching fire and falling out of frame.

"A MiG warplane shot down in Mouhassen!" says an excited man off-camera, citing a location in Deir Ezzor. "God is great!"

The government denied the jet was shot down, blaming the crash instead on a "technical failure." It said the jet fighter was on an "ordinary training flight" and that the pilot ejected safely.

The search for the pilot was still under way late Monday, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)

A few hours after the rebels made their claim, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria posted a video showing what it said was the pilot, whom it identified as Col. Mufeed Mohamad Suleiman. No identification card was shown.

The man -- dressed in civilian clothes and surrounded by armed men -- called on other military officers to defect.

He said the rebels had provided first aid to treat the bruises on his face that he suffered in the parachute jump.

A man who identified himself as a rebel captain said the pilot would be treated as a prisoner of war.

CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of either video.

A report Monday from opposition activists underscored the difficulty in resolving the Syrian crisis. It said Syrian forces in Damascus had publicly executed at least 10 people in one town, and that residents were unable to reach the bodies because "regime forces have been firing at anything that moves," the Local Coordination Committees said.

At least 114 people were killed across Syria on Monday, including 66 in and around Damascus, 15 in Daraa, and 17 in Homs, the LCC said.

Daraa is where the anti-government protests began in March last year. Nearby, helicopters shelled the southern town of Tafas, and regime forces prevented residents from fleeing, the LCC said.

SANA reported Monday that Syrian armed forces had killed "a large number of mercenary terrorists" in the opposition stronghold of Homs.

The United Nations estimated Monday that 2 million people have been affected by the fighting and more than 1 million internally displaced.

The Syrian crisis has claimed roughly 17,000 lives since it erupted last year, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last month. Opposition activists have put the toll at more than 20,000.


Source & Image : CNN World

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