Clashes At The Outskirts of Damascus

"Landep News"

Clashes At The Outskirts of Damascus

Syrian troops attempted on Monday to consolidate their position at the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, after the Free Syrian Army took control over them a few days ago in a bid to press toward the presidential palace. Syrian army is said to control Hamouriyeh, a cluster of districts, where they had to use armored vehicles and artillery against the rebel troops, who had come as close as eight km to the capital.
Activists said that the army of defectors, called Free Syrian Army, has been battling the troops of the government for hours, with gunfire being heard everywhere. At least 15 people were reported killed over three days of clashes in the neighborhoods at the outskirts of the capital.
The Syrian state-run agency said that a pipeline was blown up by “terrorists,” while people in the city of Deraa said that they heard gunfire being traded by the rebels and the governmental troops, while 20 people were reported dead in this southern city.
The situation prompted the Arab League to end on Saturday its mission in Syria, and announced it would discuss the crisis on February 5.
As the situation continues to worsen in Syria, the Arab League is presenting on Tuesday the United Nations with its project to end the conflict. A week ago, the Arab League demanded Assad to hand power to a deputy and to appoint a caretaker government to call for snap elections.
The government in Damascus rejected the proposition as an intrusion into domestic affairs of the country. The leader of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, is to attempt to convince the UN Security Council that the plan must be under way.
Elaraby said he hoped to overcome the Russian and Chinese opposition to the plan. Russia is known to have defended Syria against any sanctions imposed on it by the international community.
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has been blaming the unrest that has been going on for 11 months on an international conspiracy aimed against his regime and country. He said that the conspiracy ran that deep as to encompass even the Arab League, which in his opinion was forced to suspend Syria from its ranks.
The United Nations say that 5,400 people have been killed since the unrest started, while the Syrian government thinks that some 2,000 lost their lives, most of which are security troops fighting “thugs,” as the regime puts it.
After various attempts to bring peace to the Arab nations, the option of a military intervention remains on the table, although the Western countries have expressed on many occasions their reluctance to the military option.
Russian officials have warned on several occasion that a military intervention was under way, with NATO intervening through Turkey in the conflict. Turkey has manifested its intention to become a leading force in the region, and was among the first to advocate the military option.
Iran voiced its concern about the turn of events in Syria as well, and demanded that the Assad regime be given more time to implement the reforms. Assad announced that a referendum is to be held on a new constitution, and that elections would be called.
Iran is preoccupied by the fate of the neighboring Syria, since it is their long-standing ally and has economic interests in this region. Furthermore, Iran is facing the possibility of having NATO at its borders, if the military bloc decides to take a step toward a military intervention.
The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution on Syria next week. The resolution has been proposed by the Arab and European states last Friday. Russia said it was against the idea of imposing any sanction on the regime in Damascus.

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