Syria marked the first anniversary yesterday of an increasingly bloody uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, with recent army gains unlikely to quell the revolt and no diplomatic solution in sight.
Official media announced government forces had cleared “armed terrorists” from the northwestern city of Idlib and said supporters of al-Assad would hold rallies across Syria.
However, opponents of al-Assad’s regime show no sign of backing down and there were reports of continuing clashes in areas around Idlib, as well as close to the central city of Homs, which has been pummeled by the army in recent weeks.
Photo: AFP
Amid dire warnings that Syria is sinking into a protracted civil war, the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has demanded further clarification from Damascus over its response to proposals aimed at ending the violence.
He is due to report back to a divided UN Security Council today. Russia and China remain behind a defiant al-Assad while Western powers push for regime change.
The UN estimates that more than 8,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting. Some 230,000 Syrians have been displaced from their homes, including 30,000 who have fled abroad, raising the prospect of a refugee crisis.
Turkey said 1,000 refugees had crossed into Turkey from Syria in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of registered Syrian refugees in Turkey to some 14,000.
“We expect this to continue as long as the operation goes on in Idlib,” a Turkish official said.
As the anniversary of the uprising approached, the Syrian army appeared to step up its offensive against rebel strongholds, regaining Homs and sending tanks into the southern town of Daraa, the cradle of the rebellion.
They also pounded Idlib with artillery in recent days before sending in troops to regain control of the city, which had been a bastion for the Free Syria Army — a disparate collection of lightly armed militants led by deserters.
“Security and peace of mind returned to the city of Idlib after authorities cleared its neighborhoods of armed terrorist groups which had terrorized citizens,” the state news agency Sana reported yesterday.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pockets of resistance remained in Idlib.
“The army has control of the main streets but not the alleyways and side roads,” said Rami Abdulrahman, who relies on a network of Syrian residents for his information.
Reports from Syria cannot be independently verified as the authorities deny access to rights groups and journalists.
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