U.N. sees 4 million needy inside Syria by early 2013

[ekrem]

An estimated four million people inside Syria will need humanitarian aid by early next year when the country is in the grip of winter, up from 2.5 million now whose needs the world is not fully meeting, a senior U.N. aid official said on Friday.

John Ging, director of operations at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the bleak situation facing civilians caught up in an intensifying civil war between Syrian government forces and rebels was likely to get worse.

"That number in need is going then to increase to approximately 4 million by the early new year. We are not able to scale up at that rate. Since this crisis has begun we have not been able to keep pace with the increasing need," Ging told a news briefing after chairing the Syrian Humanitarian Forum.

"Every day our humanitarian colleagues on the ground are engaging with people who are ever more desperate, ever more fearful for their lives and for the lives of their families because of this conflict," he said.

U.N. sees 4 million needy inside Syria by early 2013 | Middle East | World Bulletin

 

[waltky]

Dire Situation as winter storm bears down on Syrians while Russia continues to support Assad...

Mideast Winter Storm Deepens Syrian Misery
January 10, 2013 — A winter storm in the Middle East has brought heavy snowfall and flooding and caused at least eight deaths. The storm, called the worst in more than 20 years, disrupted life across the region and deepened the misery of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Weather experts say the storm dumped the precipitation of an entire average winter during the course of just a few days. The storm paralyzed life in many cities from Gaza to Istanbul and aggravated the hardship of Syrians already suffering from nearly two years of conflict.
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Desperate situation

People who remained in Syria's war-battered cities huddled in their homes, making fires from books and furniture because of a lack of fuel for heaters. The situation was even worse for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled into neighboring countries and the one million people displaced inside Syria. An elderly refugee in a camp in Lebanon, who would not give her name, said they face death every day. "We are 10 people living in a tent near the woods. I have asthma. My children go to fetch wood, but it is wet. We are suffering. This is a tragedy," she said. The United Nations says millions of people inside Syria and 600,000 refugees outside the country need assistance, including food, blankets and warm clothes. It has appealed for $1.5 billion in aid for the coming six months.

Widespread snow cover

The storm created havoc across the region. It blanketed cities such as Jerusalem, Ramallah, Amman and Damascus with up to 15 centimeters of snow. Rural areas in Jordan and northern Israel were paralyzed by up to 30 centimeters of snow. Officials shut down public transportation, schools and public offices. Many businesses did not open because employees could not get to work.

A view shows snow covered the Syrian capital Damascus, January 10, 2013.

Israel's main highway was closed outside Jerusalem due to poor road conditions. Roads were closed in much of northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Thursday's snow storm was preceded by four days of winter rain that caused flooding in many areas. The main highway into Tel Aviv was closed Wednesday because of flooding which also shut down train service to Israel's largest city.

State of emergency

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Russia Calls for Political Transition in Syria
January 12, 2013 - Russia is calling for a political transition process in Syria, but has stopped short of saying President Bashar al-Assad should relinquish power as part of a deal to end the country's conflict.

In a statement Saturday, Russia's Foreign Ministry reiterated Moscow's long-held position that only Syrians can decide their future without outside interference. The statement also called for the immediate end to the "violence and bloodshed" and for providing humanitarian aid to Syrians, including internally displaced people and refugees.

The statement follows talks Friday in Geneva between international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and U.S. and Russian officials that ended without a breakthrough on how to end the civil war in Syria. Brahimi said all sides underscored the need for a political solution, but he acknowledged that resolving the conflict soon is not likely.

The United States is among U.N. Security Council members that back a political transition plan for Syria that includes Assad stepping down from power. But Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council, oppose such a plan. More than 60,000 people have been killed in nearly two years of fighting in Syria.

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[waltky]

More than 600,000 Syrians have fled the country...

Syria conflict causing 'staggering' humanitarian crisis
14 January 2013 - The BBC's Lyse Doucet visited a refugee camp in Lebanon

With more than 600,000 Syrians having fled the country, the International Rescue Committee is calling on the outside world to step up its response. The US-based group describes the level of rape and sexual violence occurring in the conflict as "horrific". In the latest violence, at least 13 people were killed in an air strike on a Damascus suburb, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight children aged between six months and nine years old were among those killed in the attack on the rebel-held town of Muadhamiya. Several people were trapped under the rubble, the UK-based activist group added.

State television blamed "terrorists" for the deaths, saying they had fired a mortar at a civilian building. The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the uprising, which began in March 2011. In addition to those who have left the country, at least two million people are thought be internally displaced within Syria.

'Drastically insufficient'

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Syria bombs Damascus suburbs to keep rebels out
Jan 14,`13 -- The Syrian government bombed areas around Damascus on Monday as part of its push to keep rebel fighters out of the capital, leaving many children among the dozens killed, anti-regime activists said.

An international aid organization cited such raids, along with rape and widespread destruction, as key factors in the exodus of more than a half-million Syrians to neighboring countries since the conflict began in March 2011. The International Rescue Committee said it could be "months, if not years" before the refugees can return home and warned that Syria's civil war could enflame tensions in the Middle East. After nearly two years of violence, it appears unlikely that the war will end soon. Although rebels seeking to oust President Bashar Assad have made gains in the country's north and east and outside of Damascus, they have yet to seriously challenge his hold on the capital or other parts of the country.

Earlier this month, Assad dismissed calls from the U.S. and others that he step down and vowed to keep fighting until the country is free of "terrorists" - his government's shorthand for rebels. International diplomacy has done little to bridge the gap. In a report released Monday, the International Rescue Committee painted a grim picture of what life has become for Syrians in war-torn areas. Syrians face brutal killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, frequent airstrikes, sexual violence and diminishing medical services, the report said.

The 32-page report, based on interviews with Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq in November 2012, said that many who fled the country cited rape as a primary reason. "Many women and girls relayed accounts of being attacked in public or in their homes, primarily by armed men," the report said. "These rapes, sometimes by multiple perpetrators, often occur in front of family members." The group did not say if the alleged perpetrators were rebels or government forces. Anti-regime activists have reported rapes by government soldiers or pro-government thugs, and U.N. war crimes investigators reported in August that government forces and allied militias were responsible for murders, rapes and indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

The report warned that violence could keep Syria's refugees in neighboring countries for years, taxing the resources of host governments and enflaming domestic tensions, particularly in Jordan and Lebanon. It called for greater international aid in and outside of Syria as well as open borders to allow those threatened by violence to escape. Violence continued inside Syria on Monday, as government fighter jets carried out lethal airstrikes on rebellious areas near the capital, Damascus.

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[irosie91]

600.000 refugees?? that is about the size of the "NAQBA" displacement.
I hope it does not develope into a similar problem. Just shoving them
back is, clearly, not the answer I wonder if NEW COUNTRIES
should be considered a viable solution. -----in order to separate
hostile ethnic groups. If there can be a seceded SOUTH SUDAN
---maybe there can be a seceded south "syria/lebanon" or a seceded NORTH LEBANON
with kurdish areas annexed ----or something of a practical geographical spread to accomodate ENDANGERED species over there

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - go in an' arrest Assad an' put him on trial fer war crimes, den hang his sorry butt...

International Pressure Growing to Refer Syria to ICC
January 18, 2013 — U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the U.N. Security Council Friday that she believes war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by both sides in the Syrian conflict, and she said the situation should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

Pillay said she told the 15-nation council that more than 60,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict and that heinous crimes - such as rape, torture, killings, abductions and the recruitment of child soldiers - are taking place. “I have informed the Security Council that based on the information that I have received and which the Commission of Inquiry has gathered - I firmly believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed, are being committed, and should be investigated,” said Pillay. It is not the first time the human rights commissioner has called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the ICC. She said she would continue to call for the move, because the United Nations does not support impunity for such grave human rights violations.

Multi-national support

Pillay was supported by the Security Council ambassadors from France, Britain, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea, who made their own joint appeal for the matter to be referred to The Hague. British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant spoke on behalf of the five, who along with 53 other countries signed a letter this week to the U.N. Security Council president calling for the referral.

“In the face of such a dramatic death toll and the silence of the Security Council, we felt that we must speak out on the absolute need for accountability and to send a clear message that the international community is not turning a blind eye to the atrocities being committed in Syria. Without accountability, there will be no sustainable peace,” said Grant. Grant acknowledged that divisions remain among the 15-nation council about such a referral. Several members, including veto-holders Russia and China, are not members to the court’s treaty.

Rising sexual violence

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos also briefed the closed meeting of the council. She told reporters afterwards that sexual violence against women in Syria is on the rise. “I have also spoken to women refugees who have raised this issue with me; that they have fled Syria because of their concerns, not just for themselves, but particularly for their daughters,” said Amos. She also expressed concerns about the effect of the harsh winter on those inside Syria and refugees in neighboring countries, and said the United Nations urgently needs funding for its $1.5 billion humanitarian appeal.

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Syria Violence May Worsen Post-Assad
January 18, 2013 — Syria's civil war drags on, with diplomatic efforts making little headway and, according to the United Nations, more than 60,000 people killed. Experts don't see a quick solution, and believe that even if the rebels succeed in ousting President Bashar al-Assad, the violence could well continue, and even get worse.

"Of course, the worst case in Syria is more than imaginable: It's possible," said. Middle East expert Alia Brahimi of the London School of Economics. "What is looking more likely is that if the regime were to collapse, you would get the worst-case scenario of revenge killings and inter-communal violence. And you would also probably see violent power struggles from within the victorious opposition, and then of course regional actors coming in to back their own horses," Brahimi.

It's a bleak scenario, but not a surprising one. Syria is split among Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, various clans and sects, and Islamic militants and liberals. "Syria is a crisis that may not be resolved for years to come, precisely because it plays into all these underlying sectarian and regional power struggles," Brahimi said. Brahimi is referring to Iran, a Shi'ite power that backs Syria's Shi'ite leaders from the Alawite sect -- who in turn facilitate its influence in Lebanon -- and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states that would like to see a Sunni-led Syria and a weaker Iran.

Beyond that, Western powers would like to see a liberal, democratic Syria, while Russia is determined to protect its influence in the country. But experts like Chris Doyle, at the Council for Arab-British Understanding, say an extended Syrian civil war is not inevitable if the various domestic and international players can be convinced their interests will be protected. "If the regime was to fall from power right now there would be a huge power struggle within Syria. If, however, there is some sort of political solution, a very clear transition process, then there is some chance that Syria can exit this dreadful crisis with something to look forward to," Doyle said.

But that would require agreement on the most contentious issue -- whether President Assad would resign immediately or stay at least for a transitional period. Neither side is budging on that. "It's possible to resolve this. It's just that nobody really wants to at the moment," Brahimi said. And that means Syrians are likely facing more months, if not years, of fighting -- whether Assad is in office or not.

Syria Violence May Worsen Post-Assad

 

[waltky]

Lil' kids havin' to drop outta school to scrounge around for family needs...

Syrians struggle with shortages as economy buckles
Jan 22,`13 -- Grappling with severe fuel shortages and winter temperatures that drop below freezing, Syrians are spending hours in line every day for gasoline or a few loaves of bread at soaring prices as President Bashar Assad's regime faces mounting difficulties in providing basic services to its people.

Syria's economy is buckling under the twin strains of violence and sanctions that have sapped the government's finances, devastated the nation's cities and left its industry and infrastructure in ruins. A power outage on Monday plunged Damascus and large swathes of the country's south into darkness, providing a stark reminder of how serious the regime's challenges are to keep the economy moving - and its people fed and warm. With the fighting settling into a bloody stalemate that looks likely to grind on for months, if not longer, the government's inability to provide basic services is likely to fuel frustration and anger with Assad, even from supporters who are deeply distrustful of the rebels fighting to topple him.

Monday's electricity blackout, which affected upscale areas in the heart of Damascus where rationing is normally less severe, was the latest in a series of infrastructural failures that the regime has blamed on the rebels. Late last year, the Internet and most telephone lines were cut for days as the regime and rebels traded blame. And over the year, the country's oil and gas pipelines, power stations and water pipes have all been attacked. While Damascus's 2.5 million residents have grown used to frequent power cuts, this week's outage was the first to darken the entire capital since the conflict began in March 2011.

The winter months have brought misery and suffering to new levels, as the scarcity of food and fuel have meant people queuing for hours in cold weather for the most basic essentials, and others freezing inside their homes. In the countryside, people have resorted to chopping down trees and burning furniture to make fires to keep warm. On a recent day in the poor Damascus neighborhood of Rukneddine, more than a 100 people stood outside al-Ameed bakery waiting to get 1.35 kilograms (3 pounds) of subsidized bread for 15 pounds (16 cents). Nowadays, Syrians can choose between subsidized bread or standard bread known as "touristic," which is abundant but four times more expensive than the subsidized.

With the economy in tatters and work hard to come by as the war grinds on, many families don't have the deep pockets for anything other than the cheapest option. One woman said she waited for four hours to get a pack of subsidized bread. "I can't afford to pay more than that. My children need every penny," she said, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals. Wearing a Muslim scarf around her head, the woman said she recently starting working as a cleaning lady to help raise her kids after her husband was killed by a shell last year. The economic crisis has meant many children are dropping out of school to help their family make ends meet.

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[waltky]

Shia/Sunni split stymies Syria summit...

Syria, Sunni-Shiite split arise at Muslim summit
Feb 6,`13 -- An Islamic summit that opened in Egypt on Wednesday lay bare the multiple divisions within the Muslim and Arab worlds, with conflicting approaches to the Syrian civil war exposing the Sunni-Shiite sectarian fault lines that have torn the region for years.

Egypt's Islamist leader sharply criticized President Bashar Assad's embattled regime in his address to the two-day summit, though he hedged his comments by only making an indirect call for the Syrian leader to step down. The Syrian government "must read history and grasp its immortal message: It is the people who remain and those who put their personal interests before those of their people will inevitably go," Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said. The conflict in Syria has been deeply divisive in the Middle East, pitting a largely Sunni opposition against a regime dominated by Assad's Alawite minority - a heterodox offshoot of Shiite Islam. Sunni nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have thrown their weight behind the rebels, while Shiite heavyweight Iran is Damascus' closest regional ally.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose Shiite-led government has been ambivalent about the Syrian conflict, offered a more cautious approach. In power for nearly seven years, al-Maliki is believed to be worried that his grip on power could weaken if the Sunni majority in neighboring Syria succeeds in overthrowing Assad and a new Sunni leadership takes power in Damascus. Al-Maliki faces a wave of protests against his rule in Iraq's Sunni provinces and has had to fight Sunni extremists linked to al-Qaida for most of his time in office. "Syria suffers from violence, killings and sabotage," he said and called on the summit to "find an exit and peaceful solution for its conflict." He called on member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the summit's organizer, to unite against terror, suggesting that he, like the regime in Damascus, views the rebels fighting the Syrian regime as terrorists.

At least 60,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict, where the rebel side is heavy on Muslim militants, many of them linked to al-Qaida. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been displaced, and many of them have found refuge in neighboring nations Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Later on Wednesday, another Syria-related event reflected the divisive impact of the conflict there. Saudi Arabia stayed out of a gathering of Morsi and the presidents of Turkey and Iran on the sidelines of the summit to discuss Syria. Saudi Crown Prince Salman, who was heading his country's delegation to the OIC summit, left Egypt just before the mini-summit was held.

Morsi has been trying to form a working group of the four countries to address the Syria crisis. But Saudi Arabia has only attended the "quartet's" first meeting several months ago. Egyptian officials insist that the Saudis have not pulled out, and an Egyptian presidential spokesman said Salman left because of other, personal engagements. The Saudi foreign minister stayed to attend the OIC summit. But it is widely suspected that the kingdom has quit the group because they could not see the point of working with Iran, Assad's most ardent backer, to resolve the conflict there.

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Leaders grapple over what to do about Syria
February 3, 2013 — With a stalemate in the United Nations and reluctance among Western nations to use military force, the international community has had little influence on the situation in Syria.

Frustration over that status quo 22 months into Syria’s civil war occasionally bubbled to the top of the Munich Security Conference, as foreign leaders grasped for a path forward and considered their collective responsibility for failures. “One day, we will go and see all who have died and we will be shocked, and we will all bear responsibility,” Qatar Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir Al-Thani said during a panel discussion Sunday. More than 60,000 people have died since the beginning of the war, most of them civilians killed by the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to Kenneth Roth, director of Human Rights Watch, who addressed the conference on Friday. More than 700,000 Syrians have become refugees, and more have been internally displaced.

Roth called for international humanitarian assistance that, if necessary, worked around the stalled Security Council. Russia has backed the Assad regime through much of the war, and, with China, vetoed Security Council efforts to condemn or respond to the violence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the audience Friday his government would not support a proposed humanitarian corridor into rebel-held areas, believing it would only create more violence.

Sen. John McCain pushed for the use of NATO missile batteries deploying near the Syrian border in Turkey to assist rebel forces by downing Syrian warplanes. McCain said he fears the West is encouraging extremist ideology by failing to get involved. “We should be ashamed of our collective failure to come to the aid of the Syrian people, but more than that we should be deeply, deeply concerned,” McCain said. “The conflict in Syria is breeding a whole new generation of extremists.” This year’s conference is the second since the start of the Syrian conflict, and the first time it included a representative from the Syrian opposition, Moaz al-Khatib.

Al-Khatib, who met separately with Lavrov and Vice President Joe Biden, has been criticized by fellow opposition members for his offer to meet with Syrian government officials, a possibility he raised again on Saturday. During a panel with U.N. Special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and Lavrov Friday, Al-Khatib again called for strict conditions around any such meeting, including the release of thousands of political prisoners. According to media reports, Lavrov privately invited Al-Khatib to Moscow.

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[waltky]

Granny says "Try `em an' den hang `em...

UN panel says Syria war crimes should go to trial
Feb 18,`13 -- A United Nations commission on Monday said fighters on both sides in Syria's civil war have committed atrocities and should be brought to justice, while European Foreign Ministers extended an arms embargo on the country in hopes it would limit the ability of both sides to wage war.

The announcements had little resonance inside Syria, however, where rebels fought to capture airbases in the north and the forces of President Bashar Assad shelled rebellious areas throughout the country. The spreading violence inside Syria despite international efforts to stop it reflects the dilemma that Syria's nearly two-year-old conflict poses for the international community. Despite pleas from the anti-Assad opposition, even sympathetic powers are resistant to provide arms, fearing they'll fall into the hands of Islamic extremists who have risen in the rebel ranks. At the same time, international calls for a negotiated solution have gone nowhere, mostly because both sides still seek military victory.

In this context, the report issued Monday by the U.N.-appointed Commission of Inquiry on Syria served as a grim state-of-play on the brutal conflict that the U.N. says has killed some 70,000 people since March 2011. The 131-page report detailed deepening radicalization by both sides, who increasingly see the war in sectarian terms and rely on brutal tactics to advance their cause, spreading fear and hardship among the country's civilians. The report accused both sides of atrocities, while saying that those committed by rebel fighters have not reached the "intensity and scale" of the government's violations.

Regime forces and its associated militias have committed crimes against humanity, the report said, citing murder, torture and rape. It said rebels have committed war crimes, including murder, torture, looting and hostage-taking. The report also accused both sides of using child soldiers, citing the presence of fighters younger than 18 on the government side and under 15 among the rebels. The commission said it will submit a new, confidential list of Syrians suspected of committing crimes against humanity to the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, next month.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, commission member Carla del Ponte criticized world powers for not doing more to stop the war and called on the U.N. Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court. "Crimes are continuing to be committed in Syria and the number of victims are increasing day to day, so justice must be done," del Ponte said. The commission, appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council, acknowledged that it had not been able to work inside Syria, a limitation that "significantly limited" its ability to investigate alleged abuses - particularly those committed by rebels. The report covers events since July, 2012, and is based on 445 interviews with victims and witnesses.

World powers remain divided on how to handle conflict. The U.S. and many European and Arab countries have called on Assad to step down while Russia, China and Iran continue to back him. Since Syria does not recognize the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction, it can only be referred to it by the U.N. Security Council, a move likely to be blocked by Russia and China, which have used their vetoes to shield the country before.

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‘Proliferation of Foreign Fighters and Extremist Groups’ Has Changed the Syrian Conflict, UN Says
February 19, 2013 – Syria’s civil war has become “increasingly sectarian,” with some attacks motivated not by strategic gain but rather by a wanton disregard for human life, a situation that is likely to worsen tensions among ethnic groups, a United Nations-commissioned report said Monday.

“It has become increasingly evident that the proliferation of foreign fighters and extremist groups has altered the character of the conflict,” said the report, compiled by an expert panel tasked to investigate all violations of human rights law in the Syrian civil war. The report accused both pro- and anti-regime forces of abuses that could constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes – including murder, torture and attacks on non-military targets – adding that the scale and intensity of atrocities committed by regime forces were greater than those carried out by the opposition. The panel intends to deliver to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights next month a “confidential list of individuals and units believed to be responsible for crimes.”

It is recommending that steps be taken to initiate legal action, possibly by referral to the International Criminal Court. As Syria is not a party to the treaty that established the Hague-based tribunal, referral would have to come from the U.N. Security Council. The conflict between President Bashar Assad’s regime and those seeking to end it has focused attention on the country’s fragmentation along, ethnic, tribal and religious lines. Assad’s Allawite sect is a minority within Shia Islam, and the 2.3 million-strong Christian minority is reported largely to side with the Allawites, fearful of an Islamist takeover. The U.S. and rebels have accused Shi’ite Iran and the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah of involvement in support of the regime. On the other side of the conflict, most anti-regime fighters are from Syria’s Sunni majority, among them the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood, boosted by radical Salafis, including foreign fighters from countries including Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

Kurdish nationalists, who control sizeable areas of territory in Syria’s northeast, add another element. Monday’s report, which covers a six-month period up to the middle of January, provides a glimpse into the way the conflict is worsening the sectarian fissures – evidently by design in some instances. “There has been an increase in attacks in which no parties claim responsibility and which do not appear to have any military or strategic objective, beyond their primary purpose to spread terror among the civilian population,” it said. “Of particular concern are attacks that may foment sectarian tensions. Such attacks are not motivated by any military or strategic gain, but rather by a wanton and menacing disregard for human life.” “More than ten incidents [during the reporting period] were documented in which improvised explosive devices, whether body- or vehicle-borne, were set off in minority neighborhoods or in the vicinity of religious sites,” it said.

The panel referred to pro-regime militia using sectarian affiliation as they seek to fill their ranks, possibly including children among recruits, and said wounded people are sometimes refused hospital treatment on sectarian grounds. It said minority communities, notably Allawites and Christians, had formed armed self-defense groups to protect their neighborhoods, in some cases armed and equipped by the regime.

Radicals, foreign support

 

[waltky]

Russia calls for end to Syrian civil war...

Russia Calls for End to Syrian Crisis
February 20, 2013 - Russia is calling for an end to the nearly two-year crisis in Syria.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday after a meeting with Arab diplomats in Moscow that neither the Syrian government nor rebels can pursue a military solution, saying that is a path to mutual destruction.

Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Elaraby, (2R), speaks to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, (3L), as other Arab League diplomats look on during their news conference in Moscow, Russia

Russia has used it veto power in the United Nations Security Council to block three rounds of resolutions against Syria, stressing the need for Syria to find an end to the fighting without foreign interference.

Lavrov's comments come a day after rebels fired mortar rounds at one of President Bashar al-Assad's palaces in Damascus. The strike was the first confirmed by the government close to a presidential building.

Activists also reported a missile strike Tuesday in the northern city of Aleppo that killed at least 31 people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says approximately 140 people died in fighting across Syria Tuesday.

Russia Calls for End to Syrian Crisis

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Government Airstrike Destroys Damascus City Block
February 20, 2013 — A Syrian government airstrike over a Damascus suburb on Wednesday destroyed parts of a city block, killing or wounding dozens. The strike came amid intensified government shelling of rebel-held districts in and around the capital in recent days.

Young men screamed and cursed as they dug through the rubble of burning and collapsed buildings to pull out victims of a government airstrike in the Damascus suburb of Hamouriya. A live webcam broadcast showed a large city block engulfed in fire, as smoke poured from the ruins. Fire and rescue vehicles arrived at the scene to try to douse dozens of burning shops, cars and buildings. Young men used crowbars to pry open smoldering vehicles and remove bodies, as ambulances ferried survivors away from the blast site. ​​Elsewhere, witnesses reported intense bouts of shelling and multiple airstrikes by government forces in southern and eastern rebel-held districts of Damascus and its suburbs. A top rebel officer reportedly was wounded in one such government attack on the besieged suburb of Daraya.

In the Damascus district of Zamalka, a football player was killed and several others wounded when mortar rounds fell at a stadium complex. Syrian state TV reported that rebels had fired the mortars, showing a glass-strewn room and blood-stained sports bag allegedly belonging to one of the players. Rebel sources claimed that mortar shells fired at a pro-government Ba'ath Party headquarters missed their target, hitting the stadium complex. Syrian government forces have taken over many stadiums and sports facilities during the 23 month-old conflict to use as military garrisons. In Syria's northern commercial hub-city of Aleppo, rebel forces continued to attack the city's main international airport. Amateur video showed rebel fighters holding positions overlooking the airport. Government forces have sent in reinforcements in recent days to try to break the rebel siege.

Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, said the government has lost control of the main highway from Damascus to Aleppo, from Hama to Aleppo, but that government forces were able to use another route to send in reinforcements. "Between Hama and Aleppo, the highway is in rebel hands. However, [the government] can access Aleppo through the deserts. There are by-roads and actually, heavy vehicles don't need paved roads in order to travel," said Khashan.

At the Arab Cooperation Forum in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that neither the Syrian government, nor the rebels, can win the conflict militarily, and that it must be solved through dialogue. Lavrov said what is happening now shows it is time to put an end to the two-year long conflict because neither side can count on a military solution, which he said is a road to nowhere, just the mutual destruction of the nation. The conference was attended by Arab League Secretary General Nabil ElArabi and the foreign ministers of Lebanon and Egypt. Both Russia and the Arab League said they are trying to create a transitional government to broker an end to Syria's conflict.

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