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| Col. Aqidi in Qusayr town center (top), checking trenches (left) and with Hani el-Abdallah |
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| Col. Aqidi checking on wounded Dr. Fayez Matar and with Drs.Saleh (top right) and Qassem |
Col. Abdul-Jabbar Aqidi,
member of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Military Council headed by Gen. Salim
Idriss, showed up on the frontlines and bombed streets of Qusayr yesterday,
saying: “If there’s a will there’s a way” to come into the embattled town.
Aqidi, who is former
chief of the Military Council of Aleppo, will presumably assume overall command
of opposition forces defending Qusayr, which is under a bloody siege by Syrian
troops and Hezbollah guerrillas.
Standing in the
devastated town square, he told Hadi el-Abdullah, recognized spokesperson for
Qusayr via Skype, he would be staying in the town to defend it.
Aqidi later visited some
of the injured in makeshift facilities and talked to a skeleton of medical
staff tending to hundreds of people wounded in the onslaught by government
forces.
Dr. Fayez Matar is one
of the wounded and the remaining medical staff includes Dr. Saleh and Dr.
Qassem.
Activists counted 12
airstrikes and two surface-to-surface missiles against Qusayr today.
Russia yesterday blocked
a UN Security Council declaration of alarm over the blockade of Qusayr, Security
Council diplomats told Reuters.
Britain, president of
the 15-nation council, had circulated a draft statement to fellow members
voicing "grave concern about the situation in Qusayr, Syria, and in
particular the impact on civilians of the ongoing fighting."
Qusayr, near the
Syrian-Lebanese border, is usually home to an estimated 30,000 people. Fighting
for control of the town has raged for two weeks.
Council statements must
be agreed unanimously. Russia blocked the draft text, saying it was "not
advisable to speak out as the UN Security Council didn't when Qusayr was taken
by the opposition," a council diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Another diplomat
confirmed the remarks.
Moscow's move to block
the statement highlights the deep chasm between Russia and Western nations on
how to deal with the Syria war. Russian diplomats in New York did not respond
immediately to a request for comment.
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| Dead children in Qusayr |
The draft statement,
obtained by Reuters, also urged
forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to oust him
"to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties and for the Syrian
Government to exercise its responsibility to protect civilians."
It appealed to Assad's
government "to allow immediate, full and unimpeded access to impartial
humanitarian actors, including UN agencies, to reach civilians trapped in
Qusayr."
Diplomats said Russia
told council members the best way to deal with Syria was through intensive
diplomacy. However, one council diplomat noted that Russia continues to sell
weapons to Assad's government.
Moscow and Washington
are trying to organize a peace conference in Geneva this month that would
involve the government and rebels. There has been wrangling over who should
participate in the conference and no date has been set for it.
French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius suggested today that the conference could take place in July. He
said the Syrian government and the opposition must attend what he called
"the last chance" for a negotiated solution.
"It's not just
about getting round the table and then asking what are we going to talk about.
It needs to be prepared. That is why I say that the July date would be
suitable," Fabius said.
Both the UN and the Red
Cross have issued near simultaneous appeals for immediate access to be granted
to Qusayr, where conditions are reported to be desperate.
UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos and UN human rights head Navi
Pillay have all called for the protection of civilians and urged that thousands
of trapped residents be allowed to flee the city.
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| Wounded children in Qusayr |
Ban reminded the
Damascus government of its responsibility to protect civilians who come under its
control, including from the threat of militias. He also called on the warring
parties to allow trapped civilians to flee.
In a separate statement
later in Saturday, Ms. Amos and Ms. Pillay said
they were “extremely alarmed” by reports that there are as many as 1,500
wounded people in the city in urgent need of immediate evacuation for emergency
medical treatment.
“The general situation
in Qusayr is desperate,” Ms. Amos and Ms. Pillay said based on information they
are receiving.
This includes “reports
that civilian neighborhoods continue to be indiscriminately attacked, and that
other major violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are
being committed,” according to the statement.
Activists say escape
routes for civilians have become unsafe. They reported this week that
Syrian forces attacked a convoy of civilians seeking to flee Qusayr.
In Geneva, the Red Cross expressed alarm over the situation
in Qusayr, and appealed for immediate access to deliver aid.
"Civilians and the
wounded are at risk of paying an even heavier price as the fighting
continues," said the head of ICRC operations in the region, Robert
Mardini.
The BBC's Imogen
Foulkes in Geneva says the fact both the UN and ICRC have issued urgent
statements at the same time is an indication of how desperate they believe the
situation has become.
