DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Arabs Give Syria One Day To Agree Monitors Or Face Sanctions

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Arabs Give Syria One Day To Agree Monitors Or Face Sanctions
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / CAIRO, Egypt - November 24, 2011: The Arab League gave Syria one day to sign a protocol allowing monitors into the country or face sanctions over its crackdown on protests including halting flights and suspending transactions with the central bank.

Arab foreign ministers who met in Cairo on Thursday said unless Syria agreed to let the monitors in to assess progress of an Arab League plan to end eight months of bloodshed, officials would consider imposing sanctions on Saturday.

Under a November 2 Arab League initiative, Syria agreed to withdraw troops from urban centers, release political prisoners, start a dialogue with the opposition and allow monitors and international media into the country.

Since then hundreds of people, civilians, security forces and army deserters, have been killed as the unrest which the United Nations says has killed 3,500 people since March continued unabated.

The violence prompted former ally Turkey to bluntly tell President Bashar al-Assad to step down and led France to propose "humanitarian corridors" in Syria to help transport medicines or other supplies to civilians in need.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he would discuss the idea with the Arab League but a source at the 22-member body said the proposal was not brought up at the Cairo meeting.

"In the case that Syria does not sign the protocol ... or that it later violates the commitments that it entails, and does not stop the killing or does not release the detainees ... (Arab League officials) will meet on Saturday to consider sanctions on Syria," the Arab ministers said in a statement.

They said possible sanctions, which were not intended to affect ordinary Syrians, included suspending flights to Syria, stopping dealings with the central bank, freezing Syrian government bank accounts and halting financial dealings with Syria.

They could also decided to stop commercial trade with the Syrian government "with the exception of strategic commodities so as not to impact the Syrian people," the statement said.

Syria's economy is already reeling from the eight months of unrest, aggravated by U.S. and European sanctions on oil exports and several state businesses.

"HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS"

After months in which the international community has seemed determined to avoid direct entanglement in a core Middle East country, the diplomatic consensus seems to be changing.

The Arab League suspended Syria's membership two weeks ago, while this week the prime minister of regional heavyweight Turkey - a NATO member with the military wherewithal to mount a cross-border operation - told Assad to quit and said he should look at what happened to fallen dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Libya's deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi.

France became the first major power to seek international intervention in Syria when it called for "humanitarian corridors" in Syria to alleviate civilian suffering.

A Western diplomatic source said the French plan, with or without approval from Damascus, could link Syrian civilian centers to frontiers such as Turkey and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean coast or to an airport.

Its aim would enable the transport of humanitarian supplies or medicines to a population that is suffering, the source said.

Juppe insisted the plan fell short of a military intervention, but acknowledged that humanitarian convoys would need armed protection.

"There are two possible ways: That the international community, Arab League and the United Nations can get the regime to allow these humanitarian corridors," he told French radio on Thursday. "But if that isn't the case we'd have to look at other solutions ... with international observers."

Asked if humanitarian convoys would need military protection, he said: "Of course... by international observers, but there is no question of military intervention in Syria."

He added that he had spoken to partners at the United Nations and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and would speak later on Thursday to the Arab League. On Wednesday Juppe also said the exiled opposition Syrian National Council was a legitimate group that France sought to work with.

In a sign of Paris' growing frustration at events on the ground, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said France was particularly concerned with what was happening in the city of Homs, which has become a center of resistance against Assad.

"Information from several sources tells us that the situation in Homs is particularly worrying. It would appear to be under siege today, deprived of basic materials and experiencing a brutal repression," he said.

"A way must be found so that this city is supplied with humanitarian aid," he added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group, said at least 23 people were killed in Syria on Thursday, including six civilians in the city of Homs.

Eleven military and security personnel were killed by army deserters in the city of Houla, the Observatory said. Alongside the mainly peaceful protests, armed insurgents have increasingly attacked military targets in recent weeks.

State media have reported the funerals of 34 soldiers and police in the last four days. Since the outbreak of the uprising officials have blamed armed groups for the violence and say 1,100 members of the security forces have been killed.

"MOST DANGEROUS PHASE"

Activists and a resident said Syrian troops in tanks fired on hideouts of army deserters near the central town of Rastan on Thursday, two months after the authorities said they had regained control of the region.

"The Syrian crisis may or may not have entered its final phase, but it undoubtedly has entered its most dangerous one to date," the International Crisis Group said on Thursday.

"Many in Syria and abroad are now banking on the regime's imminent collapse and wagering that all then will be for the better. That is a luxury and optimism they cannot afford."

Washington repeated an appeal on Wednesday for U.S. citizens to leave Syria: "The U.S. Embassy continues to urge U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available," the embassy said on its website.

The U.S. navy said the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush arrived this week in the Mediterranean, en route to the United States.

"It is probably routine movement," said a Western diplomat in the region. "But it is going to put psychological pressure on the regime, and the Americans don't mind that."

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said allies were watching the situation in Syria with great concern, but reiterated that the alliance had no intention to intervene in Syria as it had done in Libya.

"There's been no request and there is no specific discussion about these proposals," she said in response to Juppe's proposal.

She said the situation in Syria could not be compared with Libya, where NATO had a clear United Nations mandate for intervention and support from the Arab League.

Assad, 46, seems prepared to fight it out, playing on fears of a sectarian war if Syria's complex ethno-sectarian mosaic shatters and relying on support of senior officials and the military to suppress the protests, inspired by Arab uprisings which toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

However many experts say Assad, who can depend mainly on the loyalty of two elite Alawite units, cannot maintain current military operations without cracks emerging in the armed forces.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Marwa Awad and Ayman Samir in Cairo, John Irish in Paris, David Brunnstrom, Robin Emmot and Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Peter Graff and Louise Ireland)

Related News;

Arab World: Syria in the balance

Jerusalem Post - ‎29 minutes ago‎
The position of the int'l community and in particular that of Turkey will be crucial in deciding the outcome of the Syria conflict. A civil war is now under way in Syria. It is a contest in which the two sides are vastly mismatched. ...

* France proposes "secured zone" for civilians (Recasts with Arab League ...

Reuters Africa - ‎48 minutes ago‎
CAIRO, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Arab League gave Syria one day to sign a protocol allowing monitors into the country or face sanctions over its crackdown on protests including halting flights and suspending transactions with ...

Arabs give Syria new ultimatum, call for UN support

Vanguard - ‎55 minutes ago‎
CAIRO (AFP) – The Arab League on Thursday served a new ultimatum on Damascus, giving it less than 24 hours to allow monitors into the country or face sanctions, while for the first time calling on the United Nations to help resolve the crisis. ...

Syrian army shells rebels as Bashar al-Assad given 24-hour ultimatum

The Guardian - ‎1 hour ago‎
Syrian tanks shelled positions held by army defectors near the central town of Rastan on Thursday amid Arab and international diplomatic manoeuvring over how to exert pressure on the Damascus regime. Opposition activists reported at least 24 people ...

Arab League gives Syria one more day to allow in observers or risk sanctions

Washington Post - ‎1 hour ago‎
BEIRUT — The Arab League told Syria on Thursday that it has one day to agree to allow international observers into the country to monitor ongoing violence or it could face sanctions. The group has previously extended the deadline for the government to ...

Arab League sets new Syria deadline

gulfnews.com - ‎1 hour ago‎
Image Credit: AP A soldier puts a barricade in place near Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday. Protesters called a million-man march on “the Friday of the last chance” to back demands for transfer to civilian rule via a national salvation government. ...

Arab League calls for UN help over Syria

Telegraph.co.uk - ‎2 hours ago‎
Syria retreated further into diplomatic isolation on Thursday when the Arab League imposed a deadline of Friday for the regime to accept outside observers and called on the United Nations for help in resolving the crisis. ...

Syria given 24 hours to sign Arab deal

ABC Online - ‎2 hours ago‎
Syria has been given 24 hours to accept a deal to allow foreign observers into the country or face harsh new sanctions. The Arab League's foreign ministers have agreed to meet tomorrow to draw up ...

Arab League gives Syria one day to allow monitors before imposing sanctions

National Post - ‎2 hours ago‎
Demonstrators march against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Homs November 21, 2011. Banners read, (C) "Freedom for detained students at Assad's prisons". Picture taken November 21, 2011. By Dina Zayed and Ayman Samir CAIRO — The Arab League gave ...

Syria's Assad's rule nearing end, Israel says

Vancouver Sun - ‎3 hours ago‎
Pro-reform supporters, covering their foreheads with Syria's pre-Baath old national flag, protest outside the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo, where a ministerial meeting on Syria was held on Nov. 24, 2011. ...

Arab League threatens sanctions against Syria

eTaiwan News - ‎3 hours ago‎
AP An Arab League committee on Thursday gave Syria 24 hours to agree to allow an observer mission into the country, or it could face sanctions that include stopping financial dealings and freezing assets. The bloodshed in the country ...

Turkey sharpens its rhetoric on Syria while weighing the risks of military action

National Post (blog) - ‎3 hours ago‎
Full Comment's Araminta Wordsworth brings you a daily round-up of quality punditry from across the globe. Today: As the Arab League served a new ultimatum on Damascus — and suggested for the first time the UN intervene — Turkey is upping the rhetoric ...

US Government Urges American Citizens to Leave Syria as US Aircraft Carrier ...

Forbes - ‎3 hours ago‎
As the violent crackdown against Syrian dissidents continues, the US government is warning all American citizens in the country to leave immediately, according to CBS. Turkish citizens are also being warned to stay out of the country. ...

West moves closer to Syrian intervention as France calls for humanitarian ...

Daily Mail - ‎3 hours ago‎
Military action in Syria by the west came a step closer today when France pushed for a 'humanitarian corridor' through the country. Nicolas Sarkozy's government wants to see armed convoys bringing food and medical supplies to those being ...

France seeks backing for humanitarian corridors in Syria

Los Angeles Times - ‎3 hours ago‎
REPORTING FROM BEIRUT — France is seeking international backing for a proposal to establish so-called humanitarian corridors in Syria to get aid to besieged areas of the country, where the government has turned its guns on protesters and armed ...

Arab League Threatens Syria Sanctions

Wall Street Journal - ‎4 hours ago‎
The Arab League threatened harsh economic penalties against Syria and called on the government to engage the opposition in planning a transition period, a move seen as a warning to President Bashar ...

Arab League threatens sanctions against Syria

Macleans.ca - ‎4 hours ago‎
by macleans.ca on Thursday, November 24, 2011 1:12pm - 0 Comments The Arab League has threatened to impose sweeping sanctions on Syria if it fails to sign a protocol allowing Arab monitors into the country by Friday, Reuters reports. ...

Syria unrest: Arab League ponders sanctions in Cairo

RT - ‎4 hours ago‎
Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan (R) attends a ministerial meeting at the Arab League headquarters on Syria in Cairo. (AFP Photo/Mahmud Hams) As the death toll continues to rise with Egypt's military rulers refusing to step ...

Arab League Gives One-Day Ultimatum To Syria

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty - ‎4 hours ago‎
The Arab League has warned Syria that it has one day to agree to the deployment of observers or it will face economic sanctions. The Arab League says that if Damascus does not agree to an observer mission by November 25, the Cairo-based organization ...

Syria faces Friday deadline to avoid Arab League sanctions

CNN - ‎4 hours ago‎
By the CNN Wire Staff Pro-reform supporters protest outside the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo on November 24, 2011. (CNN) -- Syria has until Friday to agree to let Arab League observers into the country to monitor the ...

Arab League gives Assad ultimatum

The Press Association - ‎4 hours ago‎
The Arab League has given Syria 24 hours to agree to allow an observer mission into the country or it could face sanctions. Bloodshed in the country has continued, with activists reporting at least 15 people killed, including civilians and security ...

Arab League Warns Syria Could Face Sanctions

Voice of America - ‎4 hours ago‎
November 24, 2011 Arab League Warns Syria Could Face Sanctions VOA News Arab League foreign ministers have given Syria until Friday to sign an agreement allowing observers into the country. League officials said Thursday representatives will meet again ...

Arab League Threatens Sanctions Against Syria

NPR - ‎5 hours ago‎
by AP Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan (right) attends a meeting at the Arab League headquarters Thursday in Cairo. Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan (right) attends a meeting at the Arab League ...

AL gives Syria 48 hours to sign observer mission protocol

Xinhua - ‎5 hours ago‎
CAIRO, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) foreign ministers on Thursday gave Syrian government a 48-hour deadline to sign the protocol of the AL observers mission to the country. The AL said, at the conclusion of an extraordinary meeting on ...

Arab League imposes deadline on Syria

euronews - ‎5 hours ago‎
http://www.euronews.net/ The crackdown in Syria, its reported has not eased despite the imminent threat of sanctions from the Arab League. One amateur video which has not been verified reportedly showed an ambulance attacked by security forces on fire ...

Arab League threatens sanctions against Syria

Seattle Post Intelligencer - ‎5 hours ago‎
Burhan Ghalioun, the head of the Syrian National Council opposition group, and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, not seen, address reporters during a news conference following their meeting in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. ...

Arab League gives Syria 1-day ultimatum

CBS News - ‎5 hours ago‎
Pro-Syrian regime protesters carry a huge portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a demonstration to show their solidarity with their president, in Damascus, Syria, on Nov. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi) CAIRO - An Arab League committee ...

Syria unrest: Arab League gives one-day ultimatum

BBC News - ‎5 hours ago‎
The Arab League has warned Syria it has one day to sign a deal allowing the deployment of observers or it will face economic sanctions. The decision was taken at a league meeting in Egypt's capital, Cairo. Damascus is objecting to the league's plan to ...

Top guns march in Asian qualifiers

Arab News - ‎5 hours ago‎
Qatar's Hamad Al-Obaidi (L) fights for the ball with South Korea's Baek Sung-Dong during their 2012 London Olympic Games third qualifying round soccer match at the Al-Sadd Stadium in Doha on Wednesday. (Reuters) By ARAB NEWS HONG KONG: Syria and Japan ...

Arabs May Freeze Syrian Assets If No Deal Signed Tomorrow

BusinessWeek - ‎6 hours ago‎
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Arab League extended until tomorrow a deadline for Syria to sign a deal letting in observers or face sanctions that include the freezing of government assets and a ban on flights to ...


*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Related Posts

There is no other posts in this category.
Subscribe Our Newsletter