Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal takes part in anti-terror conference

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Sunday said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was trying to turn the crisis in his country into a dangerous sectarian            struggle.               

"We have noticed for some time that the regime in Syria is trying to turn this into a sectarian struggle and this is one of the things that worry us. Because it not only threatens Tripoli or Lebanon but Syria itself because it is the tool to divide the country if there was a tool todivide it.

This is a very dangerous occurrence," Saud al-Faisal told reporters at a news conference with United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.               

He also said he did not expect any military interference by Arab countries in Syria.               

"Military interference by the Arab countries to end the crisis in Syria, I believe that the main obstacle for that are the events that are happening in the Arab world.

The countries that have the capabilities for that have internal problems. Until the situation in the Arab world is stabilized, I don't think there will be any military  action."               

The increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict is fueling international concern that the conflict could crack open the Middle East's religious and ethnic mosaic if unchecked.               

The Assad clan is Alawite, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and he is backed by Iran and many Shi'ites in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, have spearheaded international opposition to him.               

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon repeated his appeal that all violence in Syria must stop.              

"I hope in the strongest possible terms for the Syrian president and his authorities to stop the violence. And at the same time all violence must stop in all its forms. The Syrian people have been suffering for the last 15 months - too long, too much. We have to condemn all this brutal killing of civilians - in the name of humanity. We will continue to work hard to put an end to this crisis."               

Thousands of people have been killed in a crackdown on protests against Assad, which erupted in March last yearand have become increasingly militarized, destabilizing neighboring Lebanon and raising fears of regional turmoil.               

A peace plan put forward by international mediator Kofi Annan has so far failed to stop the violence.    

REUTERS