Syrian troops shell Damascus suburbs after attacks

SYRIAN TROOPS reportedly shelled the Damascus suburbs of Harasta and Irbin yesterday in response to a rebel attack on an intelligence compound. Opposition activists said artillery and anti-aircraft guns had been firing into these districts, retaken by government forces in January.

Beirut-based Hadi Abdullah, of the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission, said the army also bombarded the Homs districts of Khaldiyeh, Qosour and Bayada, where civilians had taken refuge during the month-long siege of Bab Amr which ended when rebels pulled out on March 1st.

Since these three districts constitute the “last front left” in Homs, government forces are likely to press their attack until rebels are routed.

In the northeastern Idbib province troops are said to be mopping up rebels who held the small town of Taftanaz, the site of the most important helicopter base in northern Syria. The town also sits astride the main highway from the Turkish border to Syria’s commercial hub, Aleppo.

Opposition activists reported 52 deaths, most in Homs.

Ousted from their strongholds in northern Syria, the rebels are said to be regrouping in northern Lebanon to review tactics. If this is true, Lebanon’s army, which has stepped up efforts to seal the county’s border with Syria, could be compelled to prevent cross-border raids.

Turkey, which hosts refugees and fighters, has so far refused calls to establish a buffer zone on the Syrian side of its frontier, enabling rebels to mount attacks on government targets from safe bases.

The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News has pointed out that Ankara could be constrained by anti-US feeling and concern among Turkey’s Alevis for Alawite co-religionists in Syria if Ankara backs the Sunni revolt against the Alawite-led regime in Syria.

Already alienated by Sunni fundamentalism, Alevis are believed to number 10 to 20 million out of a population of 75 million.

The fighting took place as UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon announced that UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan would return to Damascus “very soon” to pursue his plan to end the conflict.

Russia and China, which vetoed two UN Security Council resolutions on the Syrian situation, have supported a presidential statement expressing “gravest concern” over the “deteriorating situation in Syria”, without apportioning blame.

The statement supports Mr Annan’s plan, which calls for all sides to engage in dialogue, halt fighting, withdraw troops and rebel gunmen from urban areas, ensure delivery of humanitarian relief to contested locations, release prisoners, grant freedom to journalists, and guarantee the right to demonstrate peacefully.

The statement “will consider further steps” if Mr Annan reports implementation of his plan is obstructed. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that the text “reflects the reality in Syria and supports Annan’s aims”.