Free Syrian Army creates near Civil War. Clinton says Assad will go while he vows to continue Crackdown after AL Deadline passes

Britain, Germany and France are calling for a UN resolution that demands an immediate halt to violence in Syria and strongly condemns the government's human rights violations.

The trio acted after the Arab League confirmed its suspension of Syria in response to attacks on protesters.

Germany's UN ambassador Peter Wittig said: "We hope it will show (President Bashar al Assad) just how isolated he is."

The UN's General Assembly could vote on the resolution as early as next week.

Some Arab countries have already said they intend to back the calls, it has been reported.

[link to news.sky.com]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that an attack by Syrian army defectors on an intelligence complex resembled civil war and reiterated Moscow's call for talks between Syria's government and its opponents.

He said such talks should take place at the Arab League headquarters.

"We see television reports that say some new force, the so-called Free Syrian Army I believe, organised an attack on a government building... belonging to the Syrian armed forces. This is already completely similar to real civil war," Lavrov told reporters after a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna in Moscow.

[link to blogs.aljazeera.net]

Morocco has withdrawn its ambassador from Syria, citing attacks on the country's embassy in Damascus

[link to blogs.aljazeera.net]

The attack of the Free Syrian Army captured on camera:

Free Syrian Army grows in influence

Al Jazeera talks to FSA commanders, rights activists and Syrian people about structure and role of anti-Assad army.

[link to www.aljazeera.com]

Depending on whom you believe, the group is believed to number between 1,000 and 25,000.

[link to www.quofataferunt.com]

MANY soldiers have just defected in Idleb, Syria

[link to twitter.com]

12:48 Syria's Muslim Brotherhood said it will accept Turkish “intervention,” AFP reported

To read more: [link to www.nowlebanon.com]

LOL! The agents provocateurs are provided partly by Turkey.

Sergey might be having trouble coming to terms with the inevitable outcome in Syria.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV SAYS OPPOSES CALLS FOR SYRIA'S ASSAD TO STEP DOWN AS CONDITION FOR TALKS

[link to twitter.com]

its over for Syria.

BREAKING: Clashes between defected soldiers and Assad's army in Al-Shohadaa cemetary in Daraa Al-Balad NOW.

[link to twitter.com]

A significant video from Syria --- activists claim that the footage shows an attack today by the insurgent Free Syrian Army regime forces in the Bab Amro section of Homs.

A regime tank appears to suffer a direct hit:


[link to www.youtube.com]

Clinton: What we see in Syria is 'very disturbing'

In an interview on the sidelines of the East Asian Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN's Brianna Keilar that what is going on in Syria is "very disturbing" and said the opposition is changing, and becoming "well armed and prepared to take action against the Syrian government."

[link to security.blogs.cnn.com]

Any international intervention in Syria must not be unilateral and should be mandated by the United Nations, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Friday, warning of a "catastrophe" if the country was allowed to slide into civil war.

[link to www.todayszaman.com]

Norah O'Donnell tweets:

Secy. Clinton tells me "Assad's going to be gone, it's just a question of time"

[link to twitter.com]

Update: 1842 GMT: Another massively important video from Syria. Reportedly taken today in Tafas, Daraa (MAP below), the video starts with a familiar scene.

[link to www.citymaphq.com]


People, hiding in side streets, chant protest slogans as the army deploys down the street towards the peaceful protests.

This is where the scene develops, as the army advances too close, or as it opens fire (unclear who fires first), the cameraman scans down to reveal a defected soldier taking position.

The defectors then open fire on the army, literally "protecting the protesters" as they have pledged:

[link to www.youtube.com]

An Arab League deadline for Damascus to stop its violent crackdown on protesters expires on Saturday, a day after Syrian security forces killed at least 17 civilians, including two children.

The self-styled Free Syrian Army were reported to have killed three members of the security forces.

The latest violence came as international pressure mounted on Bashar al-Assad's rule.

Syria has been told by its Arab peers to stop crackdown against protesters by midnight local time (22:00 GMT on Saturday) or risk sanctions, and the Arab League has already suspended it from the 22-member bloc.

Iran called the suspension "a historic mistake" that would in itself cause civil war.

Meanwhile, Syria has agreed "in principle" to allow dozens of Arab observers into the country to monitor implementation of a peace deal agreed earlier this month, but with conditions.



Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned on Friday of the possibility of a civil war in Syria that either is directed or influenced by Syrian army defectors.

"I think there could be a civil war with a very determined and well-armed and eventually well-financed opposition that is, if not directed by, certainly influenced by defectors from the army," Clinton told the US network NBC.


[link to blogs.aljazeera.net]

wow, and i wonder who will arm these "defectors". This is a new way of bringing down nations without getting your hands dirty, infiltrate and corrode.

'UK in secret talks with Syrian rebels'


Senior British officials, including Foreign Secretary William Hague, are set to formally meet with Syrian rebels in London next week, a new report has revealed.


The UK and other Western states have been in informal contact with Syrian rebels for the last three months, The Independent reported on Saturday.

According to the report, the talks open up the prospect of the rebels eventually being recognized as Syria's representatives.

[link to www.presstv.com]

Published April 6
Assad's Government using FACEBOOK alias FACIABOOK management to arrest, read execute (1) protesters in Syria.

Alone today (2) 12 protest organizers were arrested thanks to FACEBOOK alias FACECIABOOK.

Note
(1) Reminder
Alone today more than 50 protesters were murdered in the streets by Assad's GESTAPO

(2) thousands ever since.
In
Thread: FACEBOOK alias FACECIABOOK murdering protesters in Syria

Syria's Assad vows to continue crackdown

Arab League deadline passes for Syria to comply with peace plan; "we will not bow down," Syrian President tells Britain's 'Sunday Times'; 14 reportedly killed in security force raid.

LONDON - Syrian President Bashar Assad said the crackdown on anti-government unrest in his country would continue in the face of pressure from the Arab League to end it, according to an interview published late on Saturday.

"The conflict will continue and the pressure to subjugate Syria will continue," he told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. "Syria will not bow down."



[link to www.jpost.com]

Defiant Assad tells STimes "Syria will not bow down". "Will fight & die to resist foreign forces".

[link to twitter.com]

Reading Times Assad interview, striking parallels with Gaddafi. Blames extremists. vows to die to defend Syria, fighting armed insurrection

[link to twitter.com]

Arab League rejects Syria peace plan changes

Blaring horns, sirens, motorcades and rallies are the order of day and night in the Syrian capital as hundreds of thousands of people stage massive daily exhibitions of fidelity and devotion for President Bashar Assad, who is facing international isolation for his crackdown on an 8-month-old unrest that some say could easily spiral into a civil war.

The Arab League this week suspended Syria from the 22-member organization for failing to abide by a peace plan it brokered to end the crisis. But Syria, which called the suspension illegal and a product of U.S. pressure, agreed in principle to allow dozens of Arab observers into the country to see what is going on the ground, a significant concession from a hardline regime that loathes any sort of outside interference.

On Sunday the AL, meeting in Cairo, said it rejected amendments proposed by Syria, saying the changes put forward alter the "essence" of the peace plan.

The Syrian government blames the ongoing unrest on a foreign plot to destabilize Syria, saying extremists and terrorists - not true reform-seekers - are driving the calls to oust him.

[link to www.cbsnews.com]

Syrians rally in support of Assad

The Syrian president earlier said that his country would not give in to any foreign intervention.

Assad also warned that any military attack against Syria would destabilize the entire Middle East.

Syria has been the scene of what observers believe to be foreign-orchestrated political unrest since mid-March, with rallies being held both against and in support of Assad.

Damascus says the unrest has been largely incited by elements that are well-paid and armed by foreign powers. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

[link to www.presstv.ir]

Free Syrian Army says it carried out dawn attack on Baath Party building in heart of Syrian capital.

The Free Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for a rocket grenade attack on a building belonging to the ruling Baath Party in the heart of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Witnesss reported a loud explosion on Baghdad Street in the centre of the city early on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Arab League on Sunday rejected amendments proposed by Damascus to its proposal to send a 500-strong delegation to monitor the violence in Syria, saying they would radically alter the mission.

Activists from the Local Co-ordination Committees told The Associated Press news agency that several rocket-propelled grenades had been fired at the Baath Party building.

A witness told the Reuters news agency that the attack had occurred just before dawn when the building was mostly empty.

[link to www.aljazeera.com]

Time is running out for Bashar Assad

Though Syria’s embattled president seems bent on self-destruction, keep offering him a sensible exit.

[link to www.economist.com]

Bashar Assad interview with The Sunday Times - Free Syria

[link to www.youtube.com]