 |
| Lebanese Army patrol in Tripoli (Naharnet photo) |
At least 62 people were killed or injured in
Lebanon’s “hostage city of Tripoli” on the day Kofi Annan was forewarning of
the Syria crisis “regional spillover.”
The independent Beirut daily an-Nahar says, “12
people were killed in Tripoli and at least 50 injured, most of them by sniper
gunfire.”
The fighting across the Syrian border in northern
Lebanon’s seaport city is between pro-Assad militiamen in the predominantly
Alawite stronghold of Jabal
Mohsen and Bab al-Tebbaneh,
an overwhelmingly Sunnite and anti-Assad area.
The split in Tripoli mirrors the
divisions in Syria, where the Sunnite
majority is leading the 15-month-old uprising, while Alawites and other
minority groups are generally supporting President Bashar al-Assad
An-Nahar says Lebanese Army units and Internal
Security Forces are struggling to deploy in the two areas.
It quotes unnamed sources as saying the city has
become “a regional pawn.” Syria and its allies are manipulating the pawn through
exploitation of a “security hotbed,” which is Jabal Mohsen, to pressure
Lebanese, Arab and regional parties. Repeated talk in Jabal Mohsen about
inviting the Syrian army back to Lebanon clearly identifies the regional side seeking
to revive civil strife in Tripoli and destabilize the country.
A counterpunch comes from Jabal Mohsen chieftain
Rifaat Eid, who tells the Beirut daily ad-Diyar
there are “no Syrian refugees” in Lebanon, simply “Syrian terrorists” and that “the
military arm of the Future Movement,” which opposes Assad, is now under the
command of the Free Syrian Army.
Also on Saturday, Syria
troubleshooter Annan warned of the growing sectarian violence in Syria, saying
the conflict is already having serious consequences in the region and calling
on the international community to work together to push for the implementation
of his six-point peace plan.
"The specter of
all-out civil war, with a worrying sectarian dimension, grows by the day,"
Annan told the Arab Ministerial Committee on Syria in Doha. "The crisis is
having regional spillover, in the form of tensions and incidents across the
border, abductions of nationals and foreigners, and refugee flows to neighboring
states."
 |
| Annan in Doha (Photo from dailylife.com) |
Annan stressed that
during his meeting with Assad in Damascus earlier this week, he urged him to
act immediately to implement the six-point plan, and to honor his commitment to
withdraw heavy weapons from populated areas and cease all violence.
"The situation is
complex, and it takes everyone involved in the crisis to act responsibly if the
violence is to stop. But the first responsibility lies with the Syrian
Government, and with President Assad," Annan said. "He must
release detainees, fully open up to international humanitarian assistance, and
allow people to express their views freely in peaceful protest. This is
essential to demonstrate his seriousness to the Syrian people and the
international community."
Annan emphasized the
importance of the international community acting in unity to be able to put
pressure on Damascus and all other parties to the conflict to stop the
violence, and prevent it from spreading further.
"Let me appeal to
all of you to engage earnestly and seriously with all other stakeholders,
mindful that if regional and international divisions play out in Syria, the
Syrian people and the region – your region – will pay the price," Annan
said.
"The time is
coming, if it is not already here, for a serious review. The international
community must decide what it does next.
“From my consultations
with many actors, I sense a clear recognition that things cannot continue as
they are. I agree. The international community must work together more
effectively to push for implementation of the six-point plan in full. We must
think this through and we must get it right," he added.
Annan travels to New
York to brief the General Assembly and the Security Council next Thursday.
Shortly after Annan addressed
the Arab Ministerial Committee on Syria in Doha, the Arab League Council of
Ministers issued a statement
demanding stronger UN measures against the Syrian regime to secure its
full implementation of Annan’s plan within a “set timeframe,” including
non-military action provided for by Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
The statement was
referring to Chapter VII Article 41
of the Charter that allows the Security Council to impose sanctions to enforce
compliance with its decision.
Article 41 states, “The
Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force
are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the
Members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include
complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air,
postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance
of diplomatic relations.”
The Arab League foreign
ministers also called on network providers ArabSat
and NileSat to cut out state-run and
private Syrian channels.
Algeria, Iraq and
Lebanon voiced reservations about the statement in full or in part.
One political analyst
who is annoyed by Annan’s downbeat report to the Arab Ministerial
Committee on Syria in Doha is Tariq Alhomayed, who is editor-in-chief of the
leading Saudi daily Asharq Alawsat.
After his last meeting
with Assad, Annan told reporters in Beirut it was the role of the Security Council
to consider other ways forward in Syria.
“I know we are all impatient; we are all
frustrated by the violence, by the killings. So am I. I think I am probably
more frustrated than any of you because I am in the thick of things and would
really want to see things move much faster than it has done,” he declared.
“If it is not this proposal on the table,
there could be something else. I am not one of those that believe there is only
one way; there could be other ways. And if other proposals are on the table, I
am sure the Security Council will look at them and I will be the first to say,
'Bravo, let's move with it.’”
Annan, in other words, does not want to
personally avow the failure of his mission. He is trying to toss the hot potato
into the lap of the Security Council, which is already shackled to the wall by
Russia and China.
Alhomayed says, “The frustration is that many
people don’t want to face the truth, and Mr. Annan is one of them.”
Meantime, U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday called her Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov to discuss the situation in Syria. A State Department official
said Clinton's message to Lavrov was: "We’ve got to start working together
to help the Syrians with Syria's political transition strategy. U.S. and
Russian officials should engage diplomatically to come up with ideas in Moscow,
Washington, New York and wherever we need to."
