U.N. Says Syria Emboldened by Diplomatic Deadlock
The U.N. human rights chief accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of launching an “indiscriminate attack” on civilians to end pro-democracy protests and said he had been emboldened by the failure of the Security Council to condemn him.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the February 4 veto by Russia and China of a draft Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian government and endorsing an Arab League plan for Assad to step aside had only encouraged Damascus to intensify the attacks.
“The failure of the Security Council to agree on firm collective action appears to have emboldened the Syrian government to launch an all-out assault in an effort to crush dissent with overwhelming force,” Pillay told the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly.
“I am particularly appalled by the ongoing onslaught on Homs. … According to credible accounts, the Syrian army has shelled densely populated neighborhoods of Homs in what appears to be an indiscriminate attack on civilian areas.”
An Arab League proposal to boost support for the uprising and to send in foreign peacekeepers has also drawn a guarded response, even as Syrian forces bombarded opposition strongholds.
The central Syrian city of Homs came under army bombardment for a ninth day on Monday, with Syrian forces resuming shelling hours after Pillay’s speech, activists said. At least seven people were reported killed on Monday.
“The shells are falling at random,” activist Hussein Nader said by telephone from Homs.
Mohammad al-Homsi, another activist, said the humanitarian situation was getting worse, describing how three doctors crossed into Baba Amro during a lull in the shelling.
“Army roadblocks are increasing around opposition districts but there is a pattern to the bombardment now. It is heavy in the morning, then gives way to an afternoon lull and resumes at night,” Homsi said from the city.