Syria peace deal close to collapse amid tank and mortar fire
| Tripoli, north Lebanon
An Arab League plan to end eight months of聽violence in Syria appeared close to collapse Thursday less than 24聽hours after the Syrian regime agreed to implement the proposal.聽As many as 20 people were reportedly killed in the flashpoint city聽of Homs in central Syria and fighting was also reported in the town of聽Tel Kalakh near the border with Lebanon, according to opposition聽activists.
The renewed violence appeared to shatter hopes that the Arab League deal would prove to be a breakthrough after months of trying to end internal unrest that has now left more than 3,000 people dead since mid-March 鈥� Syrian activists say the death toll is as high as 4,000.
The proposal called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to withdraw its military forces from聽cities, release all detainees imprisoned since the uprising began, and聽to begin a dialogue with members of the Syrian opposition. The plan聽offered no deadline for its implementation, which raised skepticism聽among Syrian opposition activists that it would be honored.聽
鈥淎ssad is a master at playing for time. He has no intention of聽implementing this proposal because he knows it would be the beginning聽of the end for him,鈥� says Ahmad, a young Syrian dissident who has been living in hiding in the north Lebanon city of Tripoli since August. 鈥淚 can assure you that if the army really聽withdraws from the cities, the protestors will be at the gates of聽Assad鈥檚 palace the next day.鈥澛�
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Opposition activists say they will redouble their efforts to mobilize聽large crowds in the coming days to test Mr. Assad鈥檚 intentions. Ahmad said聽that the opposition would be willing to talk with the Syrian聽authorities only after troops have been removed from the cities and聽the detainees are released. However, he added, there would only be one聽topic up for discussion.
鈥淵es, we will sit with them but the only thing to discuss is the聽transition of power from Bashar al-Assad,鈥� says Ahmad, who is from the聽coastal city of Banias.
That sentiment was echoed by Samir al-Nashar, a member of the聽executive bureau of the Syrian National Council, the leading聽opposition group. Following talks with Nabil al-Arab, the head of the聽Arab League, in Cairo, Nashar said that the opposition was not聽interested in dialogue but 鈥渘egotiations to move from an authoritarian聽regime to a democratic regime. We ask that Bashar al-Assad resign.鈥�
Both sides determined to fight it out
The collapse of the Arab League initiative will come as little聽surprise to most analysts given the deep polarization and hostility聽between the Assad regime and the opposition, which has been compounded by worsening聽violence inflicted by both sides.
The opposition long ago abandoned聽the possibility of holding talks with the Syrian leadership over聽reforms that would spare the regime being ousted. But Assad has given聽no signal that he is willing to step down and instead appears prepared聽to fight it out.
Despite a rising number of army defections, the聽Syrian regime still holds the balance of military power and also聽commands the support of a sizeable percentage of the population for聽whom the current authoritarian leadership is preferable to the聽uncertainties of a post-Assad era. 聽
Furthermore, the international聽community has shown little desire to intercede in Syria, diminishing聽prospects of a Libya-style intervention to protect opposition聽protestors and squeeze the Syrian leadership.
The opposition, however, seems determined to continue its struggle.
Army attacks celebrating Syrians with mortar shells
Opposition activists say that the rebel Free Syrian Army, composed of聽deserters and responsible for a growing number of attacks against聽regular security forces, will soon begin filming their ambushes and聽bomb attacks for posting on the Internet. There are also plans to聽launch live news reports from activists in flashpoint towns and聽cities streamed to the Web.
The stalemate between the Assad regime and the opposition will only聽strengthen the conviction that the confrontation in Syria will聽gradually turn into an armed conflict.
An early indication, perhaps, of the road ahead for Syria was an聽outbreak of fighting in Tel Kalakh near the Lebanese border today聽between opposition gunmen and army troops.
鈥淲hen we heard about the Arab League deal we all came out on the聽streets to celebrate, thinking that the army would do nothing. But the聽army attacked us with mortar shells,鈥� said Omar, a resident of the聽town who slipped into Lebanon yesterday morning. 鈥淭he fighting is聽still going on. No more peaceful protests. There is a real jihad聽taking place in Tel Kalakh now.鈥�
