Clashes are ongoing between regime forces and opposition fighters in
the city of Daraya as surrounding areas are being shelled by regime troops, the
Syrian Observatory for Human rights reported.
The Israeli
military says six wounded Syrians have been
returned to their country after
receiving medical treatment in Israel.
In this context the Washington Post quoted
several US and European officials as saying that the White House is currently
revising its policies regarding the 2 year conflict in Syria. According to the
newspaper, the White House may be offering military aid and training to
opposition fighters in Syria.
Separately, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem is said to have stopped over in Beirut overnight prior to departing to Damascus. Moallem was on his way back from Moscow where he held talks with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, discussing the
current situation in Syria and relations between the two
countries.
Meanwhile, a Jordanian official announced that there is a new surge in Syrians fleeing across the border to Jordan as fighting intensifies in southern Syria.
A government spokesman for Syrian refugee affairs told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Jordan now hosts 418,529 Syrian refugees.
Anmar Hmoud says 2,490 Syrians crossed into Jordan overnight, with the numbers averaging about 3,000 per night in recent days.
By the end of March, Jordan could have as many as half a million Syrian refugees.
Some of those coming through unofficial border crossings find shelter in Jordan's Zaatari camp, now home to more than 105,700 refugees. Many more live among Jordanian families.
The camp has seen sporadic violent protests over its harsh desert conditions.
The U.N. says there are nearly 925,000 Syrians displaced throughout the region.
Diplomatic Activity:
Iraq's prime minister warned Wednesday that a victory for Syria's rebels will spark sectarian wars in his own country and in Lebanon and will create a new haven for al-Qaeda that would destabilize the region.
The comments by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in an interview with The Associated Press marked one of his strongest warnings yet about the turmoil that toppling Syrian President Bashar Assad could create in the Middle East.
It comes as his government confronts growing tensions of its own between the Shiite majority and an increasingly restive Sunni minority nearly a decade after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Earlier, New U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has held his
first official meeting with France's leadership amid increasing efforts by both
countries to bolster Syria's opposition.
Kerry met Wednesday with French President
Francois Hollande in Paris, chatting in French on the front steps of the Elysee
Palace.
The war in Syria and
Iran's nuclear program
have topped the agenda of Kerry's tour of Europe and the Middle East.
Following the meeting, Kerry said that the
United States hoped to find ways to speed up a political transition in Syria
and would discuss ideas at a Friends of Syria meeting in Rome on
Friday.
"We are examining and developing ways to
accelerate the transition the Syrian people seek and deserve," Kerry told
a news conference with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius in Paris before
traveling on to Rome.
Kerry added that the Syrian opposition needed more
help in its struggle against President Bashar al-Assad, but did not say whether
Washington planned additional aid.
"He needs to know he cannot
shoot his way out of this so we need to convince him of that and I think the
opposition needs more help in order to be able to do that. And we are working
together to have a united position in respect to that," Kerry added.
The Washington Post has reported that the White
House was considering a shift in policy toward the nearly two-year-long
conflict in Syria, and may send the rebels body armor and armed vehicles, and
possibly provide military training. According to the report, U.S. officials
still oppose providing arms.
France, Syria's onetime colonial ruler, is also
seeking ways to provide more support for Syria's opposition coalition after two
years of fighting Assad's government crackdown.
For the full report, please click on the VIDEO above
AP/REUTERS/LBCI