Syria violence at 'unprecedented level,' U.N. monitor says
Gen. Robert Mood, head of the U.N. team, says dialogue is impossible amid the escalating conflict. Meanwhile, the highest-profile defection yet is reported.
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
July 6, 2012
BEIRUT Violence in Syria has surged to an "unprecedented level," the chief of the United Nations observer mission said Thursday, as reports surfaced of the most high-profile defection to date from the security forces of President Bashar Assad.
Gen. Robert Mood, who heads the observer team in Syria, painted a grim picture of a nation where both sides in the conflict seem determined to use force and show little appetite for compromise or dialogue.
"The violence is continuing and escalating because the parties involved have decided that their objectives are better served by using violence than by choosing a political process," Mood told reporters in Damascus, the Syrian capital. "It is not possible to sit down and have a dialogue in the middle of this kind of violence."
The comments from the Norwegian general are the latest indication that the situation in Syria is spiraling toward all-out civil war as diplomatic efforts have failed to produce any prospect for peace.
World - world news, international news, foreign policy news, foreign affairs news - latimes.com - latimes.com
Gen. Robert Mood, head of the U.N. team, says dialogue is impossible amid the escalating conflict. Meanwhile, the highest-profile defection yet is reported.
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
July 6, 2012
BEIRUT Violence in Syria has surged to an "unprecedented level," the chief of the United Nations observer mission said Thursday, as reports surfaced of the most high-profile defection to date from the security forces of President Bashar Assad.
Gen. Robert Mood, who heads the observer team in Syria, painted a grim picture of a nation where both sides in the conflict seem determined to use force and show little appetite for compromise or dialogue.
"The violence is continuing and escalating because the parties involved have decided that their objectives are better served by using violence than by choosing a political process," Mood told reporters in Damascus, the Syrian capital. "It is not possible to sit down and have a dialogue in the middle of this kind of violence."
The comments from the Norwegian general are the latest indication that the situation in Syria is spiraling toward all-out civil war as diplomatic efforts have failed to produce any prospect for peace.
World - world news, international news, foreign policy news, foreign affairs news - latimes.com - latimes.com
