Monday, March 05, 2012

Mr. Annan, I presume.


Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during their meeting in Moscow on Monday (AP photo)

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh (click title to entry - thank you) on Monday reiterated Jordan’s rejection of any foreign military intervention in Syria, stressing that the crisis there must be resolved within the Arab League.
During a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow yesterday, Judeh discussed bilateral relations, the situation in Syria, the peace process in the Middle East and the latest regional developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Judeh also stressed the importance of safeguarding the unity, integrity and security of Syria, noting that Jordan’s stand on the Syrian crisis is in full harmony with the Arab consensus.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister outlined Jordan’s efforts to revive the peace process and break the deadlock in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, noting that establishing an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution and addressing all final status issues lie at the heart of Jordan’s interests....
The estimate of refugees from Syria to Jordan is 80,000.  However, there are now some reports that Syrian troops are stopping the border crossing into Jordan.

"We have not registered a single family in nearly a week (click here)," Hafeth Mufeeth, head of the Islamic Charitable Society Centre's northern branch, told dpa. 

"They simply cannot cross over, legally or illegally."...

Rastan shelled as envoys aim to end Syria killings (click here)

Annan to travel to Damascus on Saturday

AFP | Mar 05,2012 | 23:16


DAMASCUS — Syrian forces on Monday bombarded the city of Rastan for a second day running, monitors said, as former UN chief Kofi Annan and other world envoys prepared a diplomatic drive to end the year-long bloodshed.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, meanwhile, said Damascus had finally approved a visit, to take place from Wednesday to Friday, following protests over President Bashar Assad’s refusal to let her in.
And the Red Cross negotiated for a fourth day with Syrian authorities to be allowed to deliver aid and evacuate the wounded from the battered Baba Amr rebel district of the city of Homs in central Syria.
Rastan, which activists expect to be the next target of a drive by regime forces to expel rebels who have regrouped from Homs, 20km away, came under renewed shelling, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It said seven civilians, including four children, were killed on Sunday in shelling of the city, which like Homs straddles the main highway linking Damascus to the north....



By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press – 3 hours ago
QAA, Lebanon (AP) — Syrian refugees fleeing to neighboring Lebanon on Monday said they feared they would be slaughtered in their own homes as government forces hunted down opponents in a brutal offensive against the opposition stronghold of Homs.
With world pressure at a peak in the boiling crisis, U.S. Sen. John McCain called for airstrikes against Syria. He said the United States has a moral and strategic obligation to force out Assad and his loyalists.
"The only realistic way to do so is with foreign airpower," McCain said from the Senate floor. "The United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria, especially in the north, through airstrikes on Assad's forces."
The U.N. refugee agency said Monday that as many as 2,000 Syrians crossed into Lebanon over the last two days to flee the violence in their country. In the Lebanese border village of Qaa, families with women with small children came carrying only plastic bags filled with a few belongings.
"We fled the shelling and the strikes," said Hassana Abu Firas. She came with two families who had fled government shelling of their town al-Qusair, about 14 miles (22 kilometers) away, on the Syrian side....