US urges further Syria sanctions

Friday, August 12th, 2011

by admin

12 August 2011 Last updated at 00:44 ET

Burned police station in Hama, Syria - image taken on a government media tour (10 Aug 2011)

Syria allowed the media to film in Hama after its high-profile military withdrawal

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for wider international sanctions on Syria as the government’s violent crackdown on dissent continues.

Mrs Clinton said China and India in particular could significantly increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad because of their energy investments.

She said the US did not want to call for Mr Assad to stand down without getting the backing of other countries.

Activists say at least 16 people were killed by the army on Thursday.

More than 1,700 people have died and tens of thousands of people have reportedly been arrested since the uprising against the Assad family’s 41-year rule began in March.

This week, Washington added to its existing sanctions on Syria by including its main commercial bank and mobile phone company, and warned that more could follow.

But in an interview with CBS News, Mrs Clinton said other countries also needed to exercise their influence over the regime.

“What we really need to do to put the pressure on Assad is to sanction the oil and gas industry,” she said, citing Europe, China and India as powers with energy investments in Syria and adding that the US also wanted Russia to stop selling arms to the Assad regime.

When asked why Washington has not called yet outright for Mr Assad to stand down, Mrs Clinton said the US was focussing on “building the chorus of international condemnation”.

“Rather than us saying it and nobody following, we think it’s important to lead and have others follow as well.”

Amer al-Sadeq, a member of the anti-government Syrian Revolution Co-ordinators’ Union, has told the BBC economic sanctions would be a boost to the opposition movement.

“The regime is collapsing in an economic way and if there is a diplomatic sanction against the regime this will help a lot with the economic sanctions,” he said.

“This will also help the silent majority take a firmer attitude against the regime and to declare their support more for the peaceful revolution to achieve its goal better.”

‘Child killed’

After talks on Thursday, US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated their “deep concern” about the use of violence against civilians.

“The Syrian people’s legitimate demands for a transition to democracy should be met”, they said in a joint statement.

On Wednesday, Syria allowed international media to film as the army withdrew from the severely attacked city of Hama, a move correspondents said had clearly been aimed at appeasing Damascus’s neighbour, Turkey, and other outside powers.

But on Thursday, Syrian security forces continued the crackdown, reportedly killing at least 16 civilians, mainly in the province of Homs.

At least 11 people were reported to have died in the western town of Kassir – 135 km (85 miles) north of the capital, Damascus – after communications and electricity were cut and tanks and troops swept in.

Activists said many residents tried to flee the town and that a woman and child were among the dead.

Kassir, near the western border with Lebanon, has been stormed by the Syrian army before. But it has kept up its defiance by mounting frequent demonstrations calling for the regime to go, says the BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut.

At least three deaths were also reported in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, close to the Iraq border, which has come under heavy attack in recent days as the army attempted to regain control. Activists said one person also died in the coastal city of Latakia.

Meanwhile, the BBC’s Lina Sinjab in Damascus said many had been wounded and 27 arrested in a crackdown on a sit-in protest by engineers in the southern mainly Druze town of Sweida.

Troops and tanks also moved into Saraqeb, near Syria’s north-western border with Turkey, with houses raided and many arrests being made, our correspondent adds.

International journalists face severe restrictions reporting in Syria, and it is hard to verify reports.

In recent days, large-scale operations by the army in Deir al-Zour and also the central city of Hama have drawn international condemnation, with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait recalling their ambassadors from Damascus.

Mr Assad has reiterated promises of political reform, while remaining adamant his government would continue to pursue the “terrorist groups” he has blamed for the unrest.

: Syria’s anti-government protests, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, first erupted in mid-March after the arrest of a group of teenagers who spray-painted a revolutionary slogan on a wall. The protests soon spread, and human rights activists and opposition groups say 1,700 people have died in the turmoil, while thousands more have been injured.

: Although the arrest of the teenagers in the southern city of Deraa first prompted people to take to the streets, unrest has since spread to other areas, including Hama, Homs, Latakia, Jisr al-Shughour and Baniyas. Demonstrators are demanding greater freedom, an end to corruption, and, increasingly, the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.

: President Assad’s government has responded to the protests with overwhelming military force, sending tanks and troops into at least nine towns and cities. In Deraa and Homs – where protests have persisted ? amateur video footage shows tanks firing on unarmed protesters, while snipers have been seen shooting at residents venturing outside their homes.

: Some of the bloodiest events have taken place in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. In early June, officials claimed 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs, however protesters said the dead were shot by troops for refusing to kill demonstrators. As the military moved to take control of the town, thousands fled to neighbouring Turkey, taking refuge in camps.

: Although the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo have seen pockets of unrest and some protests, it has not been widespread – due partly to a heavy security presence. There have been rallies in the capital – one with an enormous Syrian flag – in support of President Assad, who still receives the backing of many in Syria’s middle class, business elite and minority groups.

: The Assad family has been in power for 40 years, with Bashar al-Assad inheriting office in 2000. The president has opened up the economy, but has continued to jail critics and control the media. He is from the minority Alawite sect – an offshoot of Shia Islam ? but the country’s 20 million people are mainly Sunni. The biggest protests have been in Sunni-majority areas.

: Although the US and EU have condemned the violence and imposed sanctions, the UN Security Council has been unable to agree on a response. Some fear the country could descend into civil war if the government collapsed, while others believe chaos in Syria ? with its strategic location and its web of regional alliances – could destabilise the entire Middle East.