SANA reported on
Wednesday that a group of terrorist mercenaries in the city of Zemelka in
Damascus Reef detained citizens and slaughtered them in front of the city’s
residents to incite the army to respond and to turn the public opinion against
Syria on the eve of the U.N. Security Council’s meeting.
On the other hand, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stressed that shelling and fierce clashes
rocked several Syrian regions, mainly Damascus Reef, Aleppo and Homs. In this
regard, the Free Syrian Army announced that it launched an assault against the "Teftnaz" Military Airport in Idlib Reef, destroying 5 choppers.
Separately, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights reported that the death toll of the explosion that
rocked the city of Jermana in Damascus Reef Tuesday rose to 27.
On Tuesday, a prominent figure in the Syrian
National Council (SNC), resigned, the latest of several senior
members to leave the leading Syrian opposition group this year.
The others have cited personal rivalries
within the leadership and have suggested that the SNC is not doing enough to
back the increasingly militarized 17-month revolt against Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad.
Basma Kodmani, a prominent figure
in the Syrian National Council who resigned on Tuesday, said the umbrella
opposition group had become too focused on personal agendas and needed to be
replaced by a new political authority.
Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, Kodmani
said the SNC was not doing enough to back the increasingly militarized 17-month
revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"My sense was that the SNC was not up
to facing the increasing challenges on the ground and was not up to the
performance I would have liked it to be," she said in a telephone
interview from Paris.
"The groups inside the council did not
all behave as one in promoting one national project. Some have given too much
attention to their own partisan agendas, some to their personal agendas
sometimes. That resulted in a major weakness is connecting closely with the
groups on the ground, providing the needed support in all forms."
Violence in Syria reaches Lebanon as citizen Shamel Shamout who used to work in Syria was shot in Artouz and died of his wounds. His body was transferred today to Lebanon.
International positions
Separately, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday Turkey had discussed with
the United Nations the possibility of housing Syrian refugees inside Syria and
that Ankara expected the world body to take concrete steps towards this.
"We expect the United Nations to
engage on the topic of protecting refugees inside Syria and if possible
sheltering them in camps there," Davutoglu told a news conference in
Ankara.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who will chair Thursday's U.N. meeting, said on Monday a no-fly zone may become an inevitability if refugee numbers continue to soar, while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Turkey this month that all measures including a no-fly zone were on the table
Assad's stance
Syrian President Bashar Assad had
stressed that Syria is fighting a battle both regionally and internationally,
adding that the situation has practically improved.
"It definitely
needs time to bring it to a decisive end. But I can sum it up in one sentence:
we're heading forward," he told pro-government al-Dunya TV. "The
situation on the ground is better now, but the conclusion is not there yet.
That needs some time."