Syria to hold Feb. 26 referendum on new constitution

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, fighting an 11-month revolt against his rule, has ordered a referendum on a new constitution on Feb. 26, state television reported on Wednesday.

"President Assad has issued a decree to hold a referendum on the 26th of this month for a draft constitution for the Syrian Arab Republic," Syria TV said.

It was earlier reported that Elite Syrian forces backed by armored personnel carriers stormed part of Damascus on Wednesday, firing machineguns in the air, in the closest deployment of troops to the center of the capital in an 11-month uprising, residents and activists said.    

Troops from the Fourth Armored Division and Republican Guards erected roadblocks in main streets of Barzeh neighborhood, searched houses and made arrests.    

Residents said the troops were looking for opposition activists and members of the Free Syrian Army, which has been providing security for protests against President Bashar al-Assad in the district.  

Syrian government forces launched an offensive on the city of Hama early on Wednesday, firing on residential neighborhoods from armored vehicles and mobile anti-aircraft guns, opposition activists said.     

Troops also shelled Sunni Muslim neighborhoods in Homs, the 13th day of their bombardment of a city that has been at the forefront of the uprising against Assad's rule.

An explosion hit a major oil pipeline feeding a refinery in Homs, sending a large plume of smoke rising into the sky, witnesses said. The blast hit the pipeline near a district being shelled by government troops, they said.     

France said it had created a one million euro emergency fund for aid agencies looking to help the Syrian people and would propose a similar one at an international level next week at a meeting in Tunisia to discuss the escalating crisis.    

Paris had previously proposed "humanitarian corridors" with Syrian approval or with an international mandate for shipping food and medicine to alleviate civilian suffering.    

Tanks deployed near the citadel of Hama were shelling the neighborhoods of Faraya, Olailat, Bashoura and al-Hamidiya, and troops were advancing from the airport, opposition sources said.    

Assad's determination to crush the revolt, regardless of widespread condemnation of his use of force against civilians, prompted Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia to prepare a new resolution at the United Nations in support of a peace plan forged at a meeting in Cairo on Sunday.    

A resolution passed at the meeting urged Arabs to "provide all kinds of political and material support" to the opposition.  This included arms transfers, Arab League diplomats told 5/8Reuters.   

U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, at a meeting at the White House, that the United States was disappointed with China's veto, an administration official said.  

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told reporters after the talks that China still supported the role of the Arab League and wanted "inclusive dialogue" to end the violence.   

But he said the Security Council needed to take a "very careful and very responsible attitude" to Syria, adding that  "If the U.N. Security Council takes the wrong steps, that could lead to even worse bloodshed." He did not amplify his remarks.    

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 20 people killed across Syria on Tuesday, including opposition supporters, civilians, and five government soldiers shot in clashes with rebel fighters in Qalaat al-Madyaq town near Hama.    

In Homs, a strategic city on the highway between Damascus and the commercial hub Aleppo, the pro-opposition district of Baba Amro was struck by shelling on Wednesday, activists said. At least six people were killed there on Tuesday, taking the city's estimated toll above 400 since the assault began on Feb.3    

Russia, Assad's main ally and arms supplier, also showed little enthusiasm, saying it could not support a peacekeeping mission unless both sides stopped the violence first.    

Reuters