EU amends Syria sanctions to provide further "non-lethal" support to civilians

EU:

European Union governments agreed on Monday to extend sanctions against Syria for three months but said they would amend an arms embargo to provide more non-lethal support and technical assistance to protect civilians.
   
The decision, taken at an EU foreign ministers' meeting, was a compromise after weeks of disagreement between Britain, which was pushing for an easing of the arms embargo to help rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, and a number of other EU countries opposed to letting more weapons into the country.        

The British Foreign and Commonwealth office said in a statement that its objective remains a diplomatic solution. But the statement did not explicitly confirm or deny that the UK wanted the embargo altered to get arms to the rebels. 


RUSSIA/ASSAD:

Meanwhile, reports said that Russia will send two planes to Syria on Tuesday to deliver 46 tonnes of humanitarian aid and pick up citizens that want to leave the war-torn country, an emergencies ministry spokeswoman was reported as saying on Monday.   

Russia has been one of the biggest foreign protectors of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but in recent months Moscow has given signs it may be preparing for his possible defeat.   

The planes carrying tents, power generators, furniture and 11 tonnes of food will fly to the port city of Latakia in northwestern Syria, emergencies ministry spokeswoman Irina Rossius said, according to Itar-Tass news agency.   

She said that as well as Russian citizens, the planes would pick up citizens from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a regional group of post-Soviet states.   

This as, As-Safir Lebanese newspaper said on Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad assured Lebanese officials that he is "capable of winning the war against the rebels," adding that political work against terrorist groups is ongoing.            

President Assad said that millions of dollars were offered to Syrian officials, but they rejected "the bribe" as an example of "real proof of national unity".     

UN:               

The UN human rights investigator Carla del Ponte said that "the time has come" for the Security Council to refer war crimes in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution.                               

"We follow the chain of command to establish the responsibility of high political and military suspects for the commission of crimes," she told a news briefing as the team released their latest report. "I think it is urgent that the ICC takes up this case of very high officials."                        

The investigators' latest report, covering the six months to mid-January, was based on 445 interviews conducted abroad with victims and witnesses, as they have not been allowed into Syria.                             

"The ICC is the appropriate institution for the fight against impunity in Syria. As an established, broadly supported structure, it could immediately initiate investigations against authors of serious crimes in Syria," the 131-page report said.         

Government forces have carried out shelling and aerial bombardment across Syria including Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs and Idlib, the independent U.N. investigators said, citing corroborating evidence gathered from satellite images.         


REUTERS/AP/LBCI