Syrian army push forces refugees to flee into Lebanon

SYRIAN SECURITY forces were yesterday said to be pushing towards the town of Qusier in the west near the Lebanese border, prompting inhabitants to take refuge in Lebanon.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also reported that troops had opened fire on Saturday at funerals for protesters slain on Friday, killing two mourners in Kiswa, a restive Damascus suburb. He said three other civilians were also killed in raids in Quseir and Barzeh, another Damascus suburb.

The rights group reported 20 dead in demonstrations across the country following Friday prayers – a traditional time for demonstrations throughout the Arab world. However, the government said the figure was one-third of this.

Ankara has apparently expressed concern that military action against protesters in the northeast could drive Kurds living in the area into Turkey, exacerbating tensions with Turkey’s dissident Kurds who have long called for political autonomy and full linguistic and cultural rights.

Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad blamed the protests that have erupted across the country on “extremists” with a religious agenda and said they are financed from outside Syria. He agued there is no government crackdown on protests. “There is a crackdown from the [armed] groups against the government and against civilians.”

He accused the “extremist groups” of driving the residents of Jisr al-Shaghour, a northern town, into Turkey and said the government was not responsible.

Syrian military spokesman Maj Gen Riad Haddad contended that more than 300 soldiers, 60 security officials and 50 police had died in anti-regime violence since mid-March. He also said 700 “terrorists” had fled to Turkey along with their families.

More than 100 days of protests have left 1,337 dead and led to the detention of 10,000, say human rights activists. The Turkish authorities report that 11,700 displaced Syrians have crossed the border and taken shelter in half a dozen tent camps established by the Turkish Red Crescent Society.

Following a meeting with outgoing Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa, Amnesty International chairman Salil Shetty urged the organisation to “take far stronger action on the gross human violations taking place in Syria . . . In contrast to their vocal stance on Libya and support for international action, Arab countries have stayed largely muted on Syria.”

A one-day meeting is due to be held today in Damascus of some 200 intellectuals in Syria and exiled opposition figures allowed to enter the country for this gathering. The aim is to find a formula that could resolve the deadlock between the regime and the disparate opposition.

A participant, Louay Hussein, said the authorities did not object to the gathering which comes a week after Syrian president Bashar al-Assad called for national dialogue.

One of the opposition demands is the formation of a 100-member body representing all shades of opinion, including the ruling Baath party, but excluding government officials.