Syrian civilians flee into Turkey after army moves to border region

SYRIAN TROOPS reportedly moved into the northwestern border area yesterday, prompting 600 civilians living in makeshift shelters to flee into Turkey, where 10,000 are estimated to be settled in tent camps.

Opposition activists said soldiers and tanks have moved into the northern village of Khirbet al-Joz, while military units have established checkpoints on the main highway from Damascus through trade hub Aleppo to the Turkish border, with the aim of safeguarding the flow of supplies.

Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem has castigated European governments for proposing a fresh round of sanctions. “We say to those in Europe who are criticising us that they should stop interfering in Syrian affairs and sowing trouble in order to apply plans contrary to Syrian interests.

“No one outside the Syrian family have the right to dictate . . . The Syrian affair is an internal affair, and any intervention from outside is rejected. We will forget that Europe is on the map and we will look east, south and towards every [friendly] hand that is extended to us.”

Mr Muallem characterised sanctions as an “act of war”, and denied western allegations that Iran or Lebanon’s Hizbullah movement had intervened against protesters since unrest erupted in mid-March. He suggested some of the police and troops killed during this period may have been victims of al-Qaeda.

He reiterated the call for national dialogue issued by President Bashar al-Assad in a televised address on Monday. He said: “We will offer an example of democracy . . . There will be social justice, equality before the law and accountability.”

The EU’s additional sanctions are set to target seven individuals and four companies, raising to 34 the number of senior figures hit with an asset freeze and travel ban. The EU has also placed an embargo on sales of equipment for suppressing demonstrations. A western arms embargo has been in force for many years.

An unidentified observer who took part in a government-organised visit for diplomats and press to the embattled northern town of Jisr al-Shaghour was quoted on the authoritative Syria Comment website as saying there were “two parallel narratives going on. There are peaceful protesters . . . and there is an armed insurgency in the north [and there] may well be one around Deraa as well. How the government deals with both separately will determine” what will happen.

An unnamed foreigner living in Syria cited in Syria Comment observed: “The stories people are hearing from their friends and family certainly give cause to question the narrative being carried by the international media,” which is barred from sending journalists to cover events in Syria.

The resident said the most recent flashpoint, Jisr al-Shaghour, a town of 40,000, was a “key regional centre with a long history of turmoil” where the 1980s Muslim Brotherhood rebellion began. The revolt spread to the central towns of Homs and Hama, where the rebels were crushed by armed forces in 1982.