Neither side can win - Syria VP

17 December 2012 Last updated at 17:00 GMT Farouq al-Sharaa is reported to have pushed for dialogue with the opposition Syrian Vice-President Farouq al-Sharaa has said neither the government's forces nor the rebels can win the 21-month-old conflict.

Mr Sharaa told Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar that the situation was worsening and a "historic settlement" was needed.

He said neither the opposition nor the security forces could bring about a decisive end to the ongoing violence.

Meanwhile an Italian citizen and two others were kidnapped near the town of Latakia, Italy's foreign ministry said.

All three are said to work at a steel plant and have different nationalities. The ministry has decided not to provide further information about the three in order to protect them.

In a separate development, there are reports that a senior Lebanese politician has been blacklisted by the US for allegedly assisting the Syrian government to launch attacks in Lebanon.

AFP news agency quoted a US Treasury Department statement as saying former information and tourism minister Michel Samaha had been labelled a "specially designated global terrorist".

'Syrian solution'

Mr Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim, has rarely been seen since the uprising began.

He is not believed to part of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, which is dominated by members of his family and his minority Alawite sect.

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The current leadership... cannot achieve change alone after two years of crisis without new partners ”

End Quote Farouq al-Sharaa Syrian Vice-President However, the 74-year-old is the most prominent government figure to say in public that the military will not defeat the armed rebellion.

Mr Sharaa spoke to al-Akhbar - a pro-Assad daily - from the capital, Damascus, where there has been intense fighting in recent weeks as government forces have used warplanes and artillery in effort to dislodge rebels from positions in the surrounding countryside.

"With every passing day the political and military solutions are becoming more distant," he said. "We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime.

"The opposition cannot decisively settle the battle and what the security forces and army units are doing will not achieve a decisive settlement."

Mr Sharaa said any settlement "must be Syrian" but also must involve regional powers and the UN Security Council, and lead to the formation of a "national unity government with broad powers".

It is not clear what kind of role Mr Sharaa has in mind for Mr Assad in such a government, says the BBC's James Reynolds in Turkey.

However, the opposition has rejected all suggestions which might keep him in power and their recent gains make them believe that they can topple him by force, not negotiation, our correspondent adds.

'Dramatic escalation'

On Monday, the army reportedly told people to leave the Palestinian refugee camp at Yarmouk in southern Damascus, suggesting an offensive was imminent.

It came a day after activists said fighter jets had bombed the camp, killing at least eight people sheltering in a mosque. Footage posted online purportedly showed bodies and body parts scattered on the stairs.

Rebels captured a tank after overrunning the Hananu military academy in Aleppo on Sunday

Afterwards, clashes flared between Palestinians from the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) and rebel fighters.

"There is a state of real war in the camp now," resident Abu Mohammed told the AFP news agency on Monday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Monday urged Palestinians in the camp to "expel" what he termed "terrorist groups" there.

State news agency Sana said Mr Muallem had also telephoned Ban Ki-moon after the UN secretary general expressed concern at the "continued dramatic escalation of violence" in the camp.

Mr Muallem said it was the UN and international community who were "responsible for the frustrations of the Palestinians because they have not implemented UN resolutions related to their legitimate rights".

In northern Syria, rebels said they had captured the Hananu military academy in Aleppo, the second major installation taken in a week in the area.

Commanders also said they were launching an operation to seize control of the central province of Hama. Qassem Saad al-Din, a member of the rebel military command, told Reuters that fighters had been ordered to begin surrounding and attacking checkpoints.

"When we liberate the countryside of Hama province... then we will have the area between Aleppo and Hama liberated and open for us," he said.

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Russia Sends Warships Toward Syria for Possible Evacuation

Russian officials began formulating plans during the summer for an evacuation, but have delayed announcements, analysts say, to avoid signaling a loss of confidence in President Bashar al-Assad, a longtime strategic ally. Moscow staunchly opposes international intervention in Syria and has blocked United Nations Security Council resolutions meant to force Mr. Assad from power. Officials have repeatedly said that Russia’s position has not changed.

However, Moscow has signaled in recent days that it sees Mr. Assad’s forces losing ground, and that it is beginning to prepare for a chaotic transition period. One immediate concern is the large number of Russian citizens scattered across Syria, as a result of decades of intermarriage and longstanding economic ties.

Late on Monday, Russian diplomats said that two Russian citizens had been kidnapped by an armed group. The two Russians, evidently workers in a privately owned steel factory, were seized as they traveled on a road between Homs and Tartus and were held for ransom. An Italian citizen, Mario Belluomo, was abducted with them, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

Then on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that a flotilla of five ships — a destroyer, a tugboat, a tanker and two large landing vessels — was being sent from Baltiysk, a port in the Baltic Sea, to relieve ships that have been near Syria for months. At typical cruising speeds for such vessels, the ships would arrive on station around the beginning of January.

A naval official, speaking on the condition of anonymity as is customary, told the Interfax news service that the ships were “on their way to the coast of Syria for possible participation in the evacuation of Russian citizens” to a Russian port on the Black Sea. The official said that the mission had been planned swiftly but under total secrecy, and that the timeline for the ships’ return to port “depends on the development of the situation in Syria.”

Aleksandr I. Shumilin, a regional analyst and a foreign correspondent, said Russian leaders had avoided openly taking steps toward evacuation until now, to avoid signaling that Russia was scaling back its support for Mr. Assad, but that they also risked public anger if Russians became targets of violence in Syria.

“It appears that some break has taken place, but whether that means a change of policy, or a modification of policy, that’s hard to say,” said Mr. Shumilin, who is head of the Middle East conflict analysis center at the Russian Academy of Science’s Institute for Canada and the United States. “The decision-makers are now concentrating on humanitarian questions, the protection of Russian citizens.”

The Syrian rebels have been moving aggressively around the capital, Damascus, in recent weeks, and Mr. Assad’s forces have responded by firing with Scud missiles. On Tuesday, Syrian fighter jets bombed the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk for the second time this week, seeking to drive back rebel forces that had moved in, The Associated Press reported.

Iran, Syria’s last ally in its region, appeared to remain firmly committed to Mr. Assad. On Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahianof Iran told reporters in Moscow, “The Syrian Army and the state machine are working smoothly.”

A planned visit by the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Ankara, the capital of Turkey, was suddenly canceled on Monday amid tensions between Iran and Turkey over NATO’s decision to deploy Patriot antimissile batteries on the Turkish border with Syria.

Iranian leaders, politicians and commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have denounced NATO’s decision on Dec. 4 to send six batteries of American, German and Dutch Patriot systems to intercept any Scud missiles that the embattled Syrian government may launch toward Turkey.

Iran fears that NATO will use the batteries, which are staffed by about 1,000 soldiers and can also be used against aircraft, to set up a no-fly zone and create a rebel safe haven in northern Syria.

Iran’s top general, Hassan Firouzabadi, said at a meeting of senior commanders on Saturday that the deployment was part of a Western plan to start a “world war,” and that Iran’s own ambitious missile program was the real target.

“They signify concerns over Iran’s missiles and the presence of Russia for defending Syria,” he said. “The sensible people in America, Turkey and Europe must prevent this situation from getting out of control.”

The mobile Patriot systems could technically be used to intercept Iranian as well as Syrian missiles. They are effective against missiles at a range of about 12 miles, and against aircraft up to 100 miles.

Iran has threatened to fire missiles at Israel if its nuclear installations come under attack.

On Tuesday, Iran’s defense minister, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, said Israel was the winner in the Syrian conflict, because it was witnessing the destruction of an enemy — the Assad government — while the Syrian people were being “manipulated” by “terrorists.”

Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, urged Iran to use its political clout with Damascus to end the violence in Syria, instead of making statements about the Patriot systems.

“Turkey and NATO have stressed over and over again that this system is solely for defensive purposes,” Mr. Davutoglu told reporters. “Turkey has the right to do what it wants in order to protect its territory. It is time for Iran to give a clear message to the Syrian regime.”

Ellen Barry reported from Moscow, and Thomas Erdbrink from Tehran.

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Syria rebels 'make fresh gains'

18 December 2012 Last updated at 11:30 GMT The hostilities around Damascus have led to a new wave of displaced civilians Rebels in Syria are reported to have made fresh gains as the battle for control of the country intensifies.

The rebels said they had seized the central town of Halfaya and stormed an army base near the southern city of Deraa, capturing a number of tanks.

There has also been fighting between rebels and a pro-government Palestinian group for control of two refugee camps in the south of the capital, Damascus.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has made a rare visit to Aleppo, in the north.

Wael al-Khalqi promised extra funds to meet the needs of people in the embattled city, which is half under rebel control.

Much of the surrounding countryside is also now in rebel hands.

'Ultimatum'

Not far to the south, in Hama province, the rebels have claimed further gains, declaring the town of Halfaya a "liberated area" after taking over army positions there.

Continue reading the main story Yarmouk camp is home to the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria, with more than 148,500 residents registered with the UNIt lies 8km (5 miles) from the centre of Damascus and resembles an urban quarter, occupying 2.1 sq km (0.8 sq miles) and containing mosques, schools and other public buildingsSince its establishment in 1957, refugees have built cement block homes and the camp is now densely populated. Conditions are better than at other Palestinian refugee camps in SyriaMany of the refugees in Yarmouk are professional, working as doctors, engineers and civil servants. Others are employed as casual labourers and street vendors

Source: UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa)

In the south, near Deraa, rebels said they stormed the base of the army's 34th Brigade, capturing a number of tanks.

And on the southern edge of Damascus, they have made significant advances in two Palestinian refugee settlements, the adjoining Yarmouk and Palestine camps, pushing out fighters from the pro-government Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) with the help of other factions.

That has exposed the areas to reprisal bombardments by government forces, leading many civilians to flee, reports the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

One Yarmouk resident told the AFP news agency that the mosques of the camp had broadcast an army ultimatum giving the estimated 150,000 people inside until 12:00 (10:00 GMT) to leave their homes.

In the past two days, it is estimated that about 2,000 Palestinian refugees have crossed into Lebanon, further straining already stretched resources there.

The UN agency that looks after Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, which is already heavily under-funded, is appealing for extra donations to help cope with the new flow, amid fears that it is likely to increase, our correspondent adds.

Steel workers kidnapped

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said up to 100 wounded people were being admitted each day to Damascus's main hospital.

"The most frequently observed injuries are burns, gunshots and injuries from explosions," the UN agency told reporters in Geneva. "Shortages of ointments for burns and equipment and supplies for anaesthesia and surgical interventions have been reported."

Meanwhile, Russia's foreign ministry has said that two of its nationals have been kidnapped in Syria, along with an Italian man.

The abductors were demanding a ransom from the men's employer, a steel works in the Mediterranean port town of Tartous, it added.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was undertaking "all the necessary steps both in Syria and other countries" to free them.

Meanwhile, NBC News correspondent Richard Engel and members of his production team have been freed five days after being taken prisoner by an unknown group shortly after they crossed into north-western Syria.

NBC said their release came after a firefight at a rebel-held checkpoint on Monday, and that they were now "safely out of the country". Their captors were not believed to be loyal to the Syrian government, it added.

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