Sky NEWS
Updated: 16:21, Thursday January 24, 2013
Turkey has called on the UN Security Council to deal with war crimes and the humanitarian crisis in Syria, while Russia accused the Syrian opposition of holding up peace efforts.
In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday slammed the Syrian opposition for its 'obsession' with toppling strongman Bashar al-Assad. '
It is Russia that made attempts to convince the Syrian opposition to start talks. ... Until now the opposition held back by seeking to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad,' he added, according to Itar-Tass news agency. '
Our priority is not reaching a geo-political aim - like the toppling of al-Assad regime - but a stabilisation of the situation and a rapid end to the bloodshed to save Syrian lives,' said Lavrov.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said the Security Council should discuss no-fly zones or other strategies. Otherwise, he said, its silence would continue to signal to the Syrian regime a green light to continue committing war crimes.
'That silence is killing Syrian people,' the minister said at the annual meeting of government, UN and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss town of Davos.
Davutoglu called on the UN body to unite and send strong messages, not only regarding the air attacks upon civilians, but also about ensuring better access for humanitarian aid to embattled regions.
Turkey, a vociferous critic of Syria, has repeatedly called on Assad to step down to end the country's nearly two-year conflict.
Syria's main allies, Russia and China, have vetoed Western- and Arab-backed resolutions condemning al-Assad.
UN World Food Program chief Ertharin Cousin echoed Davutoglu's remarks when she highlighted the 'need for humanitarian space' in which aid groups could operate safely.
According to UN emergency aid chief Valerie Amos, 'the humanitarian situation in Syria is already catastrophic and it's clearly getting worse'.
'The harsh winter is exacerbating the already appalling conditions. More than 650,000 people have left the country,' she added.
More than 60,000 people have died in Syria's conflict, according to UN estimates.
Amos's office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs led senior UN officials from eight agencies on a trip to Syria this week. The delegation visited the flashpoints cities of Homs and Daraa as well as areas near the capital Damascus.
The Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, which also took part in the trip, said Syria's farm sector was 'in tatters'.
Wheat and barley production dropped by half to two million tons last year compared with pre-conflict levels, as farmers lack seeds, fertilisers and the security they need to properly grow and harvest their products.
In Syria on Wednesday, activists reported that at least 40 people, including children, were killed in the central, northern and southern parts of the country.
Syria's news agency SANA said the army was pursuing operations against 'terrorist groups' - a term referring to rebel fighters - in restive areas of Daraya and al-Zabadani on the outskirts of Damascus.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said Syria's armed opposition groups appeared to have deliberately destroyed religious sites in the country's mixed areas. '
The destruction of religious sites is furthering sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country, with tens of thousands killed,' said Sarah Leah Whitson, the watchdog group's Middle East director.
Several countries and organisations have recently expressed concerns that Syria's anti-government uprising has developed into a sectarian conflict.
Meanwhile, NATO reported on Wednesday that Patriot defence missiles it deployed to Turkey should reach their initial operating capacity at the weekend and start protecting some 3.5 million people against potential attacks from neighbouring Syria by the end of January.
Two Dutch Patriot batteries in Adana are expected to come online first, said Brigadier General Garry Deakin. Germany and the United States also have two batteries each in Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep. All are controlled by NATO commanders in Ramstein, Germany.
Deakin also said that an anti-NATO protest that targeted German soldiers in Turkey earlier this week would not 'distract from the mission'.
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