US warns Bashar Syria faces civil war because of violent crackdown
From: AFP November 19, 2011 12:50PM
THE AUSTRALIAN
Protesters burn a picture of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Source: AP
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined a growing international chorus of concern that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protests may spark a civil war.
Echoing fears voiced in Russia and Turkey, Mrs Clinton yesterday warned that "a very determined, well armed and eventually well financed opposition'', led or influenced by Syrian army defectors, may end up fighting the Assad regime.
Analysts have raised the spectre of a civil war spilling over Syria's borders into neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.
In her interview with the US network NBC, Mrs Clinton stressed that the US prefers a peaceful protest movement against President Assad amid US concerns that acts of opposition violence can allow the Syrian leader to justify his crackdown.
In a number of network interviews, Mrs Clinton conceded how little influence the US has over events in Syria as she backed initiatives by Turkey and the Arab League to press President Assad into ending the violence.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Thursday that an attack like the one on a Syrian intelligence base by army defectors on Wednesday could lead Syria into a civil war.
The rebel Free Syrian Army, which claimed responsibility for the raid, boasts thousands of soldiers who defected from the army to join the eight-month revolt against President Assad.
Mrs Clinton's deputy spokesman, Mark Toner, disagreed with the Russian assessment as he said that violent acts by the opposition play into the hands of a regime that claims the protest movement is led by thugs and "terrorists".
Mrs Clinton also sought to put the blame for the violence squarely on the regime.
"The way the Assad regime has responded has provoked people into taking up arms against them," she said.
In her interview with NBC, Mrs Clinton sought to dispel any idea that Washington would seek UN support for some sort of military action in Syria resembling the no-fly zone that helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.
"There is no appetite for that kind of action vis-a-vis Syria," Mrs Clinton told the network. "Libya was a unique situation. And every place is, I think. But it's not applicable to Syria."
In an interview with the US network ABC, Mrs Clinton welcomed initiatives by the 22-member Arab League and neighbouring Turkey.
"We recognised early on that we were not the voice most likely to be heeded by the Syrians," Mrs Clinton said, adding that the US had very little trade and other links with Damascus.
"And so what we've encouraged, in addition to our statements, is a growing chorus that now consists of the Arab League and Turkey that cannot be ignored by Syria," she said.
In Rabat, Arab League leaders on Wednesday gave President Assad three days to halt his "bloody repression" of anti-regime protests the UN says has killed more than 3500 people, or risk sanctions.
In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said "it is now the right time to stop this (Syrian) massacre, and therefore the Arab initiative is important".
He added: "If it is not successful, of course there is always a risk of civil war or high level tension in Syria."
Turkey ratcheted up the economic and political pressure on Syria on Tuesday, saying it would halt joint oil exploration with Damascus and threatening to stop electricity supplies over the regime's bloody crackdown on demonstrators.
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