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More Syria Deaths Reported As Regime Forces Bombard HomsFeb 06, 2012 (Radio Free Europe Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- Amateur video purporting to show explosions and smoke in a residential area of Homs, in central Syria, on February 6. (AP video via streaming via the Bambuser streaming service) Last updated (GMT/UTC): 06.02.2012 09:43 The United States says it has pulled all American diplomats out of Syria as violence flares in the country. The embassy said Ambassador Robert Ford and other diplomats left Syria on February 6. The State Department has warned it would close the embassy unless President Bashar al-Assad's government stepped up its protection. It cited concerns about the safety of personnel. President Barack Obama, speaking to U.S. television in Washington, said earlier on February 6 that it was important to resolve the ongoing conflict in Syria without outside military intervention. In Cairo, the head of the Arab League said that the Syrian army's use of heavy weapons against civilians was an escalation that was edging the country towards civil war. 'Government Bombardment' Of Homs Meanwhile, Syrian security forces have reportedly launched renewed attacks on several flashpoint cities, killing scores of people, as international criticism continued against Russia and China for opposing a draft resolution at the United Nations. Syrian opposition sources say at least 17 people have been killed as Syrian government forces continue to bombard the flashpoint central city of Homs. Activists said government forces were using helicopter gunships and rocket launchers in the assault. The government denied shelling Homs, however, saying "armed terrorist gangs" were behind the violence. The government also blamed a gas pipeline explosion in Homs on "terrorists." Russia, China Defend Veto Meanwhile, Russia and China have offered defenses of their votes after coming under Western criticism for vetoing a United Nations Security Council draft resolution that would have called for a halt to the Syrian violence and urged President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the West's reaction to the vetoes as "indecent and bordering on hysteria." "The desire of the coauthors [of the draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria] was to make the [Syrian] regime stop violent activities without imposing any concrete obligations on the armed groups that are fighting against this regime," Lavrov said during a visit to Bahrain. "And such a resolution would have meant that the Security Council was taking sides in a civil war." Moscow and Beijing on February 4 both vetoed the measure, which was backed by the Arab League and supported by the Security Council's 13 other members. In its comments on February 6, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected U.S. accusations that China and Russia were sheltering the Syrian regime, saying Beijing only wanted to uphold justice. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier called the vetoes a "travesty" and accused China and Russia of protecting "the brutal regime in Damascus." Lavrov and Russian Foreign Intelligence Service head Mikhail Fradkov are expected to travel to Damascus on February 7 to meet with President Assad. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said the men will press Assad to make compromises and that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is seeking "the swiftest stabilization of the situation" on the basis of "democratic reforms." Upward of 6,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian conflict since the Assad regime launched its crackdown on protesters in March, 2011. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said on February 5 that Arab states would continue their efforts to help resolve the Syrian crisis. Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org |