AMMAN/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The UN human rights chief accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of launching an “indiscriminate attack” on civilians to end pro-democracy protests and said he had been emboldened by the failure of the Security Council to condemn him.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the February 4 veto by Russia and China of a draft Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian government and endorsing an Arab League plan for Assad to step aside had only encouraged Damascus to intensify the attacks.
“The failure of the Security Council to agree on firm collective action appears to have emboldened the Syrian government to launch an all-out assault in an effort to crush dissent with overwhelming force,” Pillay told the 193-nation UN General Assembly.
“I am particularly appalled by the ongoing onslaught on Homs. … According to credible accounts, the Syrian army has shelled densely populated neighborhoods of Homs in what appears to be an indiscriminate attack on civilian areas.” An Arab League proposal to boost support for the uprising and to send in foreign peacekeepers has also drawn a guarded response, even as Syrian forces bombarded opposition strongholds.
The central Syrian city of Homs came under army bombardment for a ninth day yesterday, with Syrian forces resuming shelling hours after Pillay’s speech, activists said. At least seven people were reported killed yesterday.
“The shells are falling at random,” activist Hussein Nader said by telephone from Homs. Mohammad al-Homsi, another activist, said the humanitarian situation was getting worse, describing how three doctors crossed into Baba Amro during a lull in the shelling. “Army roadblocks are increasing around opposition districts but there is a pattern to the bombardment now. It is heavy in the morning, then gives way to an afternoon lull and resumes at night,” Homsi said from the city.
Shelling was also reported in the town of Rastan today. Reports of action on the ground are difficult to verify because Syria restricts access by journalists.
At the United Nations, diplomats said a draft General Assembly resolution which “fully supports” the Arab League plan and introduces a call for the appointment of a joint UN-Arab League envoy, could be put to a vote later this week.
The resolution, seen by Reuters, is similar to the vetoed Security Council draft, however there are no vetoes in General Assembly votes and its decisions are not legally binding.
“The situation on the ground is unbearable,” the Qatari president of the General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, told Al Jazeera Television. “There is an idea for an Arab draft resolution, which I think will be distributed to the member countries today or tomorrow and will be voted on this week.” He added: “The time has come for the United Nations … to look at the situation seriously either at the Security Council or the General Assembly.”
World powers meanwhile digested Arab League proposals calling for a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping force for Syria. The United States and Europe are reluctant to get dragged in militarily. Given Syria’s position in the Middle East’s religious, ethnic and political faultlines, they fear this would be more risky and complicated than the NATO-led air support that helped Libyan rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi last year.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington that the peacekeeper proposal would be tough to get through given Russian and Chinese support for Damascus.
“There are a lot of challenges to be discussed as to how to put into effect all of their recommendations and certainly the peacekeeping request is one that will take agreement and consensus,” Clinton said.
Russia, Assad’s close ally and main arms supplier, said it could not support a peacekeeping mission unless both sides ceased the violence first.
China however backed what it termed the Arab League’s “mediation” but offered no clear sign of support for the call.
“Relevant moves by the United Nations should be conducive towards lessening tension in Syria … rather than complicating things,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said.
