AKCAKALE, Turkey — Syrian rebels seized control of a border crossing on the frontier with Turkey on Wednesday, ripping down the Syrian flag as the rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad expand their control of the country’s north.
Assad, meanwhile, told Iran’s visiting foreign minister that the fight against his government “targets resistance as a whole, not only Syria,” an apparent reference to countries and groups opposed to Israel’s existence. The “axis of resistance” includes Syria and Iran, along with the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group in Lebanon and the Palestinian militant Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian visitor, Ali Akbar Salehi, arrived in Syria after a visit to Cairo as part of an Egyptian-sponsored Syria peace initiative grouping Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — all supporters of the rebels — with Iran.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi warned Iran on Tuesday that its support for the Syrian regime was hurting chances of better relations between Iran and Egypt. The promise of greater rapprochement with Egypt is part of a package of incentives and efforts by Morsi to lure Iran, Syria’s staunchest regional ally, away from Damascus and find an end to the bloodshed.
After meeting with Assad on Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister pledged his country’s “unwavering support” to Syria to end the fighting, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. Although 18 months of bloodshed prompted international sanctions that have isolated Assad’s government, the regime still has the support of Russia, Iran and China.
Assad, in turn, said “the success of any initiative is the truthful intention to help Syria,” SANA said. It quoted Assad as saying that the “current battle targets resistance as a whole not only Syria.” Syria is Iran’s key ally in the Arab world, and a collapse of the Assad regime would be a major blow to attempts by Shiite-run Iran to expand its influence in the region.
ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty ImagesA group of Syrian refugees chant slogans "freedom to Syria" as International peace envoy arrives in the Altinozu camp in Hatay city.
In Washington, the Obama administration identified 117 Iranian aircraft it said are ferrying weapons to the Syrian regime. The planes operated by Iran Air, Mahan Air and Yas Air are delivering weapons and Iranian forces under the cover of “humanitarian” shipments, the Treasury Department said.
The airlines are already subject to U.S. sanctions: Americans cannot do business with them and any assets they have in the U.S. are frozen. But the U.S. is now listing planes individually, partly to pressure Iraq to crack down on Iranian weapons shipments to Syria via Iraqi airspace.
Baghdad insists it will not allow its airspace for arms shipments from Iran to Syria. Earlier this month, the Iraqi government said Iran had assured it that the flights to Syria were delivering only humanitarian aid, and called on the United States to prove otherwise.
SANA / REUTERSSyria's President Bashar al-Assad, right, meets Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in Damascus Monday.
The conflict in Syria began with peaceful protests that were attacked by government security forces and has since evolved into a civil war. Activists say at least 23,000 people have been killed. Rebel factions have also been accused of summary executions and other abuses.
In recent weeks, Syria’s military has stepped up air attacks on rebel-held areas, but has failed to drive opposition fighters out of territories they have seized, particularly in Syria’s north, near the border with Turkey.
Wednesday’s capture of a border crossing with Turkey was a strategic boost for the rebels, allowing them to ferry supplies into the country as the fighters try to tip the balance in the civil war.
Syria’s rebels have captured several other crossings into Turkey, as well as one on the border with Iraq. The seizure on Wednesday is believed to be the first time they have overrun a frontier post in the northern province of Raqqa, which could help in the fight for control of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, about 160 kilometers away.
“I am a free Syrian!” Zisha Bargash shouted, throwing his hands in the air as he watched the takeover from the Turkish side. “This is the beginning of the end Assad. Game over.”
National Post
No comments:
Post a Comment