WORLD_ Syria hit by diplomatic defection as UN fights divisions

Syria hit by diplomatic defection as UN fights divisions


Envoy posts video on Facebook calling on members of military to join revolution


By Mariam Karouny 
updated 46 minutes ago
2012-07-12T04:32:46


BEIRUT — Syria's ambassador to Iraq defected on Wednesday in protest over President Bashar al-Assad's violent suppression of a 16-month uprising as the U.N. Security Council remained deadlocked over the next steps in the crisis.


"I declare that I have joined, from this moment, the ranks of the revolution of the Syrian people," Nawah al-Fares said in a video statement posted on Facebook. He did not elaborate or say from where he had posted the statement.


"I ask ... the members of the military to join the revolution and to defend the country and the citizens. Turn your guns toward the criminals from this regime," Fares said.


"Every Syrian man has to join the revolution to remove this nightmare and this gang which has reeked corruption across Syria and destroyed the state and society over the last 40 years, and to guarantee a bright future for the coming generations."


Fares, who has close ties to Syrian security, was the first senior diplomat to quit the embattled government.


Video: Assessing the situations in Afghanistan, Syria and Egypt (on this page)

He did not spell out his reasons for defecting, but repeatedly said government forces have been killing civilians. There has been no comment from Damascus or Baghdad and the White House said it was unable to confirm the defection, hailed by Assad's opponents as a sign of crumbling support.


Assad's chief backer on the U.N. Security Council, Russia, remained firmly in the Syrian leader's camp. And the 15-member council made little headway after international mediator Kofi Annan asked it to agree on "clear consequences" if the government or opposition fail to comply with his faltering plan for a political solution to the crisis.


Fares, a Sunni Muslim and who had held senior positions under the late president Hafez al-Assad, is from Deir al-Zor, the eastern city on the road to Iraq which has been the scene of a ferocious military onslaught by Assad's forces.


"This is just the beginning of a series of defections on the diplomatic level. We are in touch with several ambassadors," said Mohamed Sermini, a member of the main opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Council.




US: Syrian general defection a 'crack in inner circle'


The defection of Fares could be a major blow to Assad, who wants to convince a skeptical world he is conducting a legitimate defense of his country against foreign-backed armed groups bent on toppling the government.


Fares' decision to jump ship follows the high-profile flight from Syria last week of Brigadier General Manaf Tlas, also a Sunni and once a close friend of Assad, whose minority Alawite sect has relied on Sunni allies to maintain control of Syria's majority Sunni population.


Tlas fled to Paris and has not spoken since of his intentions. Opposition sources said earlier that Fares was leaving Iraq but it was not clear where he would go.


"The apparent decision of yet another senior Syrian official to ditch Assad would be a chink in his armor," said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.


"Although Ambassador Fares is not a member of Assad's inner circle, he's a respected Sunni figure and such a courageous act could help sway other Sunni elites to follow in his footsteps."




Video: Soft spoken but defiant: Assad pledges to stay put (on this page)


Divided on sanctions


The apparent crack in Assad's diplomatic ranks came as international diplomacy inched along, plagued by divisions over what the next steps should be to address Syria's crisis.


Annan, appointed mediator by the United Nations and the Arab League, briefed the Security Council by video link from Geneva on the results of this week's diplomatic shuttle to Damascus, Tehran and Baghdad - three capitals forming a Shiite Muslim axis of power in the Middle East.


The deeply divided council must decide the future of a U.N. observer mission in Syria, known as UNSMIS, before July 20 when its 90-day mandate expires. It initially approved 300 unarmed military observers to monitor an April 12 ceasefire, which failed to take hold, as part of Annan's peace plan.


"He (Annan) called for the Security Council members to put aside their national interests and to put joint and sustained pressure on both parties with clear consequences for non-compliance," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said.


Russia and China, both veto-wielding permanent council members, have for months blocked moves by western and Arab countries aimed at increasing the pressure on Assad, leaving the council deadlocked.




Video: Rapid change in Syria as rebels gain power (on this page)


Britain on Wednesday circulated a draft resolution to extend the monitors' mandate for 45 days and make compliance with Annan's transition plans for the country enforceable under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows the council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.


The draft resolution in particular threatens the Syrian government with sanctions if it does not stop using heavy weapons and withdraw its troops from towns and cities within 10 days of the adoption of the resolution.


The British text, drafted in consultation with the United States, France and Germany, counters a draft resolution circulated by Russia on Tuesday, which would extend UNSMIS for three months but makes no threat of sanctions.


Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Alexander Pankin told reporters after Annan's briefing that Moscow believed sanctions were a "last resort".


Iran, Iraq support


Annan said on Wednesday both Iran and Iraq supported a plan for a Syrian-led political transition in Damascus - buttressing his argument that Tehran should be involved in efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis



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