Saudi Arabia and Qatar sign agreement to avoid double taxation    Saudi and Chinese foreign ministers meet in Beijing    Saudi Arabia to participate in Beijing International Book Fair 2024 as guest of honor    Aramco acquires 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan    ROSHN revamps Waterfront walkway in Jeddah    Unstoppable OMODA & JAECOO global export sales volume surpassed 220,000! Now joining the KSA market with their pre-sales campaign    Moscow warns West after Ukraine told it can hit Russia with Western weapons    Trump found guilty in hush money trial    US and UK carry out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen for first time in months    Bangladeshi pilgrim's life saved after suffering from heart attack    Transport minister opens 2nd Ring Road costing SR660 million in Jeddah    Jail for 4 Arab nationals for sexually harassing an Asian expat    Cristiano Ronaldo collects 2023-24 RSL top scorer award    Al Hilal's Bono named best goalkeeper of Saudi League    Saudi Pro League fan turnout up by 11% in 2023-24 season    Jorge Jesus wins Saudi League Manager of the Season award    Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale concludes with massive attendance    Man opens ice cream shop in seaside telephone box    Nepali climber sets record for fastest ascent of Mount Everest by a woman    World's rarest album to go on display in Australia    JK Rowling in 'arrest me' challenge over hate crime law    Trump's Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles    Hollywood icon Will Smith shares his profound admiration for Holy Qur'an    We have celebrated Founding Day for three years - but it has been with us for 300    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Split in Syria raises calls for foreign help
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 11 - 01 - 2012


Reuters
The collapse of a deal between Syria's two main opposition factions shows that voices calling for foreign intervention to topple President Bashar Al-Assad have gained the upper hand over those opposing it.
But the quick unravelling of the pact, which ruled out such international action, ensures that achieving that goal will remain elusive since Western powers are loath to throw their weight behind a fractured Syrian opposition.
Wary of the risks of engendering chaos and wider Middle East conflict given Syria's internal sectarian divisions and Assad's alliance with Iran, NATO says it has no plans to intervene as it did to back Libyan rebels who toppled Muammar Gaddafi last year. And neighboring Turkey, Assad's former ally, has said any intervention must be backed by the UN Security Council with Arab League support and must be justified on humanitarian grounds and not have regime change as its goal.
Ten days ago Burhan Ghalioun, head of the mostly exiled Syrian National Council (SNC), signed an accord with the mainly Syrian-based National Coordination Body (NCB) outlining a transition to a democratic post-Assad Syria.
The agreement rejected “any military intervention that harms the sovereignty or stability of the country”, while leaving the door open for an Arab role to stop Assad's military crackdown on protests in which 5,000 people have died, by a UN count.
But members of Ghalioun's own council denounced the deal, forcing him to disavow it. Many grassroots protesters inside Syria also rejected it, saying they had lost hope that 10 months of peaceful demonstrations would bring down Assad.
The NCB rejects foreign intervention, seeking instead a political agreement for a transitional government to replace Assad, a path it says would save Syria from disintegrating along sectarian and ethnic lines.
SNC member Khaled Kamal said many members had originally shared the NCB's rejection of an intervention such as a no-fly zone or buffer zone to protect Syrian civilians. “But now all roads are blocked and the political solution did not work,” he said.
“After 10 months and after we knocked on all doors... foreign intervention is the only choice before us,” he said, adding that the SNC will begin a campaign to get recognition as the only opposition group representing the mass demonstrations.
The revolt has become bloodier as protests have become overshadowed by armed rebels taking the fight to the security forces. Syria says it is fighting Islamist militants who it blames for killing 2,000 of its security forces and soldiers.
The National Council, ignoring Ghalioun's concerns of possible civil war, wants to give a bigger role for the rebel Free Syrian Army that has been attacking security forces.
It is also seeking international steps to prevent Assad using warplanes against popular unrest and to create a buffer zone on the Turkish border, which would provide the FSA a base to escalate attacks on Assad's forces.
Such views are echoed among many activists in flashpoint cities such as Homs and Hama. __


Clic here to read the story from its source.