Syrian troops enter villages near epicentre of uprising

SYRIAN TROOPS yesterday reportedly moved into villages near Deraa, the town where countrywide demonstrations began nearly eight weeks ago, while gunfire was also heard in the southwestern Damascus suburb of Muadhamiya.

The Syrian Revolution 2011 website called for countrywide demonstrations in solidarity with the thousands of protesters detained by the security services. “Demonstrations will continue every day,” stated the Swedish-based Facebook page, run by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian co-ordinator Valerie Amos appealed for a fact-finding team to be allowed into Deraa. The UN Relief and Works Agency which serves 30,000 Palestinian refugees living in camps near Deraa has also been unable to bring medical supplies in.

“It’s a matter of life and death, and that is why we call for immediate humanitarian access and are working with the relevant Syrian authorities to send a team to the area,” said spokesman Chris Gunness. The teams’ visits could soon be cleared. In an interview with the New York Times, Bouthaina Shaaban, adviser to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, asserted: “I hope we are witnessing the end of the story. I think now we’ve passed the most dangerous moment. We want to use what happened to Syria as an opportunity . . . to try to move forward on many levels, especially the political level.”

Refuting the US accusation that Tehran has been helping Damascus to crush the revolt, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated: “The government and the people of Syria have reached a level of maturity to solve their own problem by themselves and there is no need for foreign intervention.” Both Iran and Tur- key, which have supported risings elsewhere in the region, have been circumspect about events in Syria.

The EU has imposed an embargo on arms sales to Syria, although Damascus does not source such supplies from Europe. The EU has also named 13 persons to suffer financial sanctions, although few are likely to have funds or other assets in Europe. The list is topped by president Bashar al-Assad’s younger brother Maher, commander of the army’s Fourth Mechanised Division and presidential guard deployed in the crackdown.

Also on the list are intelligence chief Ali Mamluk, interior minister Muhammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, and Dr Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, a magnate regarded by critics of the regime as the font of corruption. The president is not on the list.

“The aim of these measures is to achieve a change of policy by the Syrian leadership without further delay,” stated EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Exiled regime opponents of all political persuasions, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are set to hold a conference later this month in Cairo if given permission by the Egyptian authorities. One of the aims of this gathering, the largest proposed by opposition figures on Arab soil, is to encourage the middle class to support the protest movement.

Opposition groups have put the civilian death toll so far at 621-880, and say 8,000-10,000 people have been detained. At least 120 Syrian soldiers have died.