UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations on Monday suspended operations in Syria and began withdrawing non-essential staff as the brutal civil conflict raged and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was prompted to vow it would never use chemical weapons against its own people.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters the organisation was suspending its Syria missions indefinitely, amid fresh bloodshed in the war that has already claimed an estimated 41,000 lives since starting in March 2011.
The UN pullout coincided with the United States voicing concerns that Assad’s forces might be weighing the use of chemical weapons. US media reports earlier said the Syrian military had been detected moving the weapons around, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Monday their deployment would cross a “red line.”
“We are concerned that an increasingly beleaguered regime ... may be considering the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people,” White House spokesman Jay Carney added.
In televised remarks, a Syrian foreign ministry official said Syria would “never, under any circumstances, use chemical weapons against its own people, if such weapons exist.”
The latest developments at the United Nations came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Turkey that the Nato deployment of Patriot missiles along its border with Syria could exacerbate tensions. He met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an Istanbul summit that failed to yield a common response to Syria’s conflict.
Russia vehemently objects to Turkey’s Nato request for the deployment of Patriot missiles as Assad’s regime clings to power and suppresses a rebellion.
Moscow has warned that such a deployment could spark broader a conflict pulling in the Western military alliance. Putin underscored the point, the eve of a Nato meeting in Brussels that is expected to decide on Ankara’s request. “As they say, if a gun is hung on the wall at the start of a play, then at the end of the play it will definitely fire,” Putin said at a joint press conference with Erdogan. “Why should we need extra shooting at the border? We are urging restraint.”
Though Turkey and Russia have growing trade and energy links, they remain at loggerheads over Syria. Moscow is a staunch ally of Damascus, routinely blocking resolutions against Assad’s regime at the UN Security Council, while Ankara’s relationship with its neighbour has collapsed over the conflict and a series of cross-border shellings and other incidents.
Turkish tensions with Russia came to a head in October when Turkey intercepted a Syrian plane flying from Moscow to Damascus on suspicion that it had military cargo, drawing an angry response from Russia, which said it was carrying non-restricted radar equipment.
‘No plans to use chemical weapons’
BEIRUT: Syria said yesterday it would not use chemical weapons against its own people after the United States warned it would take action against any such escalation.
The statements came amid media reports, citing European and US officials, that Syria’s chemical weapons had been moved and could be prepared for use in response to dramatic gains by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
“Syria has stressed repeatedly that it will not use these types of weapons, if they were available, under any circumstances against its people,” the foreign ministry said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier warned that Washington would take action if Syria used the weapons.reutersAFP
