One week ago, Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution seeking the end of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Now the Arab League has passed its own resolution calling for UN and Arab League peacekeeping troops to be stationed in Syria. Once again the plan faces Russian and Chinese opposition, while Westerners are wary of sending troops to the Middle East powder keg.
The UN’s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, on Monday blamed disagreements within the Security Council for “emboldening” the Syrian regime to crackdown on civilians. She added she was “appalled by the ongoing onslaught on Homs.”
Syrian forces launched a new assault on the restive city of Homs on Monday, a day after the Arab League called for the first time on its member states to aid opposition fighters seeking the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
A draft resolution produced by the Arab League at Sunday’s meeting in Cairo said the league would call on the UN Security Council to form a joint peacekeeping mission to end violence in Syria. It will also end all diplomatic ties with Damascus.
Arab League foreign ministers are gathering in Cairo Sunday to plan their next move in Syria. The meeting comes a day after fighting killed 45 people across the country, including a top Syrian general, and at least three in Lebanon.
Chadi Chlela meets the US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. What message does the United States have for the Syrian people and the regime? Over 5,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the crackdown and the violence continues on a daily basis. They also discuss the consequences of the Russian and Chinese vetoes of the recent UN Security Council resolution on Syria.
Syrian forces continued with their deadly bombardment of Homs Saturday, bringing the number of people killed in the week-long assault to at least 300. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has put a draft peace plan to the UN General Assembly.
In the wake of Friday's deadly bomb blasts in Syria's second city of Aleppo, Saudi Arabia circulated a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly backing an Arab peace plan for the country. A similar text was vetoed last week by Russia and China.
After a solid week of shelling in Homs, the international community is still scrambling for a plan. Also, Nicolas Sarkozy’s re-election bid steers right and Britain marks milestones for Queen Elizabeth and literary (and journalism) giant Charles Dickens.
After an apparent admission on FRANCE 24 by a senior member of the Free Syrian Army, the organisation’s overall commander has denied his group had set off twin blasts that claimed some 25 lives in the city of Aleppo.
