Army's grip on Damascus tightens as 23 reported killed

SYRIAN GOVERNMENT forces yesterday consolidated their grip on restive suburbs of Damascus while rebels said they had captured Rastan, a strategic town, west of the city of Homs. The local co-ordination committees reported that 23 people were killed.

The Syrian National Council, the exiled opposition coalition, had called for a day of “national mourning” for the 56-100 people they claimed were slain on Monday. The council called on the international community to halt “massacres” as violence peaked.

The head of the Arab League monitoring mission, Mustafa al-Dabi, observed that unrest has risen “in a significant way”, particularly in Homs and Hama and the northern Idlib region. The mission’s activities were suspended last week due to continuing violence.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the Security Council would adopt a united stand on a draft resolution due to be discussed last night and today.

However, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov declared that Moscow would never allow the council to “authorise anything similar to what happened in Libya”.

He condemned the use of force by both the government and armed opposition groups, called on the international community to “lean on the Syrian government” to halt violence and talk to the opposition, and urged countries hosting opposition groups to “lean on” them to reach agreement with the regime “on how [the] country is going to be run”.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is slated to join three European foreign ministers at the council meeting with the aim of sending “a clear message of support to the Syrian people: we stand with you.”

She declared, “The status quo is unsustainable” and charged the Assad regime with risking instability that could “spill over throughout the region”. White House spokesman Jim Carney said: “Assad’s fall is inevitable . . . The regime has lost control of the country and will eventually fall.”

The draft calls for an end to violence and a “political transition” involving dialogue between the government and the full range of opposition groups, the transfer of authority from president Bashar al-Assad to his deputy, formation of a unity government and elections. If Damascus does not comply with the terms of the resolution, the council could “adopt further measures”, not excluding military action, although French foreign minister Alain Juppé, an advocate of a hard line against the regime, has ruled this out.

Russia said it was prepared to discuss the wording of the text with co-sponsors Britain, France and Germany. While non-permanent council members India and South Africa have reservations, 10 out of 15 are said to be prepared to back the draft in a vote, which could prompt Moscow and, perhaps, China to cast vetoes.