BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States closed its embassy in Syria on
Monday and withdrew its staff in the face of escalating mayhem for
which American officials blamed the Syrian government's unbridled
repression of an 11-month-old uprising.
A member of the Free Syrian Army stood guard over a demonstration by
opponents of President Bashar al-Assad's government in Idlib on
Monday.
The move was another dramatic moment in a week full of them, as the
confrontation in Syria turned even more violent and more
unpredictable. Diplomatic efforts have largely collapsed, save for a
Russian delegation visiting Damascus on Tuesday, and both the Syrian
government and its opposition have signaled that each believes that
the grinding conflict will be resolved only through force of arms.
For weeks, Western embassies have reduced their staffs, and on Monday
Britain also recalled its ambassador for consultations. Echoing a
cascade of diplomatic invective, the British foreign secretary,
William Hague, described the mounting violence as yet more evidence
that President Bashar al-Assad must surrender power.
"This is a doomed regime as well as a murdering regime," he told the
House of Commons. "There is no way it can recover its credibility
internationally."
Though the government has pressed forward with a crackdown in the
suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and in a rugged northern region
around the town of Idlib, the city of Homs has witnessed the most
pronounced violence. Opposition groups said government forces again
shelled the city, despite international condemnations of a similar
attack on Friday and Saturday that they said killed more than 200
people.
Another grim toll was reported Monday in the city, Syria's third
largest. The Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group that
seeks to document the violence, said government forces killed 47
people in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, especially Baba Amr and
Khalidya. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the
number at 43. There was no way to independently confirm either number.
"The situation is so miserable," said a 40-year-old man who gave his
name as Ahmed. "Gunfire is falling like rain, and all the stores are
closed. We keep hearing unbelievably loud explosions that shake the
windows every half-hour."
Explosions could be heard over the phone when speaking with residents
in Homs. Videos smuggled out showed a chaotic scene at a clinic, as
people rushed past doctors and staff members, shouting "Oh God!" In
one video, said to document the scene, blood smeared the sidewalk.
Another showed bloodied corpses.
The government has flatly denied the tolls quoted by opposition
groups. On Saturday, it said Homs was quiet. State-run news media
placed blame for the violence Monday on "armed terrorist groups"
firing mortars within Homs. In a statement, the Interior Ministry said
that it was seeking "to restore security and stability to Homs," and
that six members of the security forces and "scores of terrorists" had
been killed.
Clearly laying the blame on Syria's president, the State Department
said in a statement that the United States had "suspended operations
of our embassy in Damascus," and that Ambassador Robert S. Ford and
all American personnel had left the country. It said the closing
reflected "serious concerns that our embassy is not protected from
armed attack."
"The deteriorating security situation that led to the suspension of
our diplomatic operations makes clear once more the dangerous path
Assad has chosen and the regime's inability to fully control Syria,"
said a spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland. American officials said the
embassy staff had relocated temporarily to neighboring Jordan.
The announcement said Ambassador Ford would "continue his work and
engagement with the Syrian people as head of our Syria team in
Washington."
It stopped short of a formal break in diplomatic relations with Syria,
but was considered a strong signal that Obama administration officials
believe there is nothing left to talk about with Mr. Assad. Though
more isolated than at any time in the four decades since Mr. Assad's
family took power, the government was emboldened by the vetoes of
Russia and China on Saturday of a United Nations Security Council
resolution backed by Western and Arab states supporting a plan to end
the bloodshed. The vetoes appeared to end, for the moment, any
concerted diplomatic efforts.
Instead, countries traded barbs. Mr. Hague called the vetoes "a
betrayal of the Syrian people." Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V.
Lavrov, was scornful of the criticism, saying it was "perhaps on the
verge of hysterical." In China, a commentary in the Communist Party
newspaper People's Daily argued that the chaos that followed the
toppling of governments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya proved that
forced leadership changes only made matters worse. "Simply backing one
side and beating down the other, seemingly helpful, will in fact only
sow seeds of future disasters," said the article, signed Zhong Sheng,
an often-used pseudonym that can be read to mean "China's voice."
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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