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Lebanese intellectuals and journalists hold up placards against the Syrian regime, during a vigil sit-in to show their support to the Syrian protesters who demonstrate against the Syrian President Bashar Assad. Hussein Malla/AP/Press Association Images
Syria
Syria: Assad's troops not backing down despite heavy diplomatic pressure
Turkey issues its “final warning” to Syria and the United States signals a call for President Assad to step down – but the regime remains defiant.
SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR al-Assad remains defiant today in the face of increasing diplomatic pressure on his government to abandon deadly crackdowns on protesters in the country.
Security forces reportedly launched another attack on protesters yesterday, with human rights groups claiming that at least 40 people were killed, the Guardian reports.
Yesterday, the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu travelled to Damascus to apply pressure on Syria - however, after more than six hours of discussions no consensus was reached, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reports.
As a traditionally close ally of Syria, it was hoped that Turkey’s condemnation of the violence would have an influence on an increasingly desperate situation. However, Assad rejected calls to end the violence, saying that his government would not back down or “relent in pursuing terrorist groups”, reports the Irish Times.
The Turkish Prime Minister also issued a severe criticism of Sryia earlier in the week as further reports of brutal government crackdowns emerged. Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara’s patience with Syria was “running out” and described the government’s response to peaceful protests as “inhumane”. Erdogan also condemned the “slaughter of innocents” - evidently rejected Assad’s insistence that the protests were caused by thugs and criminals.
Currently, about 7,5000 Syrian refugees are living along the Turkish border with Syria, having recently fled their home country in fear of their lives.
Syria is fast running out of allies. Last week, the Arab League condemned the violence in Syria, with both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pulling their ambassadors from the country; today the US has signalled that its patience with Syria is also wearing thin thin, with CNN reporting the US government is moving towards an explicit call for Assad to step down.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has urged to United Nations to issue a resolution on Syria, amid reports that the death toll since mass protests began in March had risen to more than 1,600 people.
Noeleen Hartigan, Programmes Director of Amnesty International Ireland, said: “We don’t need another meek statement from the UN Security Council like we had last week. Making a polite diplomatic appeal to the Syrian authorities to stop killing civilians is not enough.”
Hartigan said that “hundreds of thousands of Syrian men and women were standing up to demand their rights and needed the support of the international community. “The UN must deliver a legally-binding resolution, impose a complete arms embargo on Syria and freeze the overseas assets of President Assad and his senior associates,” she said.
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