Qatari emir urges no-fly zone to
protect refugees, French President calls for UN to protect "liberated
zones" under opposition control.
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Middle East Online
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By Tim Witcher - UNITED NATIONS
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The
emir of Qatar has called for an Arab intervention in Syria and a no-fly
zone to protect refugees as President Bashar al-Assad's forces stepped
up the battle for Aleppo.
More than 100 civilians were
killed Tuesday in intense fighting across Syria, activists said, as US
President Barack Obama and other Western leaders at the UN General
Assembly stepped up calls for an end to Assad's rule.
Qatar's
emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, urged Arab action in the
war-torn state because of the failure of the UN Security Council and
other international efforts to end the 18-month-old conflict.
"It
is better for Arab countries themselves to intervene out of their
humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to
stop the bloodshed," Sheikh Hamad told the General Assembly.
Earlier, Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, told CNN television that there was a "Plan B" for Syria.
"You need to make safe haven areas, first of all," he said. "That would require a no-fly zone.
"If
the Syrians want to break that, that's another subject. We need
somebody to have the teeth to tell them 'don't do that', because that
will not be allowed."
French President Francois
Hollande said the United Nations should protect "liberated zones" under
opposition control to help civilians and refugees.
On
the battlefield, government forces said they had retaken the Aleppo
rebel district of Arkoub. Security forces were conducting door-to-door
raids to hunt rebels, a military official said.
Syrian
television aired footage of soldiers patrolling Arkoub, where high-rise
buildings were shelled out and rubble lined the streets.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights insisted that clashes in Arkoub had
not ceased and an AFP correspondent heard machinegun fire in the area.
The
observatory said at least 114 people had been killed. Activists say
more than 29,000 have died since an uprising against Assad started in
March 2011.
At the UN assembly, UN leader Ban Ki-moon
called on the Security Council to "solidly and concretely" support the
peace efforts of UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has
stated there will be no quick solution.
The 15-nation council is hopelessly deadlocked, with Russia and China resisting international action on the war.
Obama,
meanwhile, delivered a blistering attack on Assad in his speech to the
UN assembly. "The future must not belong to a dictator who massacres his
people," said the US president.
"As we meet here, we
again declare that the regime of Bashar al-Assad must come to an end so
that the suffering of the Syrian people can stop, and a new dawn can
begin."
A State Department official later said that the
United States is set to unveil more aid for the Syrian opposition this
week, but stressed the supplies will still not include weapons or
ammunition.
"We've been clear about our assistance and
the type of assistance we are providing and that is going to continue,"
the official said, after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met peace
envoy Brahimi.
Hollande joined the clamor for Assad to
leave. "The Syrian regime will not retake its place in the concert of
nations. It has no future among us," he told the assembly.
Aid agencies say there is a mounting humanitarian crisis with more than 2.5 million people now needing help in the country.
Save
the Children released a poignant account of the suffering of Syrian
children who are being "badly traumatized" after witnessing killing and
experiencing torture.
The report "Untold Atrocities"
gives first-hand accounts from children and parents who fled the
violence, and contains graphic details of how youths have been caught up
in the war.
Alongside its publication, explosions
shook the headquarters of an army administration building in Damascus
which manages schools for children and martyred soldiers. State media
said seven people were wounded.
"The explosions were so powerful that the walls collapsed," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Reports
from the battlefield said, meanwhile, that regime defector Colonel
Kassem Saadeddine, a Free Syrian Army commander in the central province
of Homs, escaped an assassination attempt on Tuesday.
Saadeddine's convoy was ambushed by pro-regime militia in Salmiyeh, Hama province, free army spokesman Fahd al-Masri said.
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Thursday 27 September 2012
Qatar calls for Arab intervention in Syria
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