From left: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, United Nations, High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before a meeting in Geneva to discuss the growing number of Syrian refugees, which are flooding into neighbouring nations. Syria’s refugee crisis is one of the biggest tragedies of our times, the UN said, with more than two million Syrians having fled their war-ravaged country and some 4.2 million displaced internally.
WASHINGTON: The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution yesterday authorising a limited US military intervention in Syria, setting the stage for a debate in the full Senate next week on the use of military force.
The committee voted 10-7 in favour of a compromise resolution that sets a 60-day limit on any engagement in Syria and bars the use of US troops on the ground for combat operations.
The compromise is more limited than US President Barack Obama’s original proposal but meets the administration’s goal of punishing Syria for what the US says is the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, killing over 1,400.
The authorisation still faces significant resistance in Congress, where many lawmakers fear it could lead to a prolonged US military involvement in Syria’s civil war and spark an escalation of regional violence.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the resolution next week. The House of Representatives also must approve the measure.
Obama and administration officials have pushed Congress to act quickly, saying US national security and international credibility is at stake in the decision whether to use force in Syria to punish President Bashar Al Assad’s government for chemical weapons use. Reuters
