Obama tells Syrians U.S. is ‘with you’
Written by on February 4th, 2012 in Latest News.
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the latest atrocrities in Syria on Saturday and told its citizens: “we are with you, and the Assad regime must come to an end.”
Opposition groups and activists say more than 200 people were killed by artillery and mortars fired by Syrian forces in the city of Homs overnight, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to consider a resolution condemning the crackdown on dissent.
In his statement, Obama spoke out against the “relentless brutality” of Assad’s government and again urged the Security Council to stop the killings.
“The international community must work to protect the Syrian people from this abhorrent brutality,” he said.
Activists say the number killed in shelling that started late Friday ranged from 217 to 260, making it the deadliest attack in the central city since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime started 11 months ago.
Some activists said the violence was triggered by a wave of army defections in Homs. There have been reports that army defectors have set up checkpoints in the area.
Supporters of the Free Syrian Army chant slogans during a protest in Reef Damascus, north of Damascus, early Saturday. (Reuters)
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Co-ordination Committees said more than half of the killings from shelling that started late Friday were reported in the Khaldiyeh neighbourhood.
The opposition Syrian National Council described it as “one of the most horrific massacres since the beginning of the uprising in Syria.”
The reports could not be independently confirmed and the government has accused the opposition groups of engaging in a propaganda campaign.
Moscow could veto Syria resolution
The UN Security Council was to meet Saturday morning to discuss the draft resolution supporting the Arab League’s demand for Assad to step aside.
Ahead of the meeting, France’s foreign minister called the massacre of Homs “a crime against humanity, for which its perpetrators will be held accountable.”
“The international community must recognize and support the right of the Syrian people to freedom, security and to choose its political future,” Alain Juppé said in a statement Saturday.
“Those that would impede the adoption of such a resolution would take a heavy responsibility before history.”
British Foreign Secretary William Hague also called upon the Security Council to “do its utmost to end the bloodshed in Syria.”
Russia’s foreign minister, meanwhile, warned Washington on Saturday that any attempt to place a draft resolution on Syria to vote at the United Nations would lead to “scandal,” a blunt warning that Moscow is prepared to use its veto power.
Sergey Lavrov said in an interview broadcast on Russian state television Rossiya that Moscow had submitted its amendments to the Western-backed draft. He said that Russia hopes that “bias will not prevail over common sense.”
“If they want another scandal at the UN Security Council, we wouldn’t be able to stop them,” Lavrov said, voicing hope that Washington wouldn’t place the draft to vote.
Lavrov said Moscow still sees two problems of “crucial importance” with the draft UN resolution. He said it makes too few demands of armed groups opposing the Assad regime. He also said Moscow remains concerned about whether it prejudges the outcome of a national dialogue among political forces in Syria.
Russia and China, which wield veto power at the Security Council, have blocked previous Western attempts to impose sanctions on the Syrian regime over its crackdown on protests.
The UN has said that more than 5,400 people have been killed in violence since March. Hundreds more have been killed since that tally was announced, and activists say 200 died in the city of Homs on Saturday.
With files from The Associated Press
