Syria's Homs bombarded again

Bashar Assad's forces continue onslaught on western town as Turkey pushes for end to brutal crackdown

Reuters|Published: 02.09.12 , 12:16

Armored reinforcements poured into Homs as President Bashar Assad's forces bombarded the Syrian city for a fourth day, opposition sources said on Thursday, worsening the humanitarian situation and prompting a new diplomatic push from Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Ankara, which once saw Assad as a valuable ally but now wants him out, could no longer stand by and watch.

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He said Turkey wanted to host an international meeting to agree ways to end the killing and provide aid to Syria: "It is not enough being an observer," he said. "It is time now to send a strong message to the Syrian people that we are with them," he added, while refusing to be drawn on what kind of action Turkey or its allies would be prepared to consider.

Scores were killed in Homs Wednesday, according to the opposition, drawing comparison with the plight of the city of Benghazi which triggered Western attacks on Libya last year and accelerating a global diplomatic showdown whose outcome is far from clear.

Activists said that at least 40 tanks and 50 infantry fighting vehicles accompanied by 1,000 soldiers were transported from the nearby border with Lebanon and from the coast and deployed in Homs.

There was no comment from the Syrian authorities, who have placed tight restrictions on access to the country and it was not possible to verify the reports.

The Syrian opposition intensified calls for international intervention to protect civilians. Activist-in-exile Massoud Akko said Turkey and Western countries needed to organize an airlift to Homs and other stricken cities and towns that have borne the brunt of five months of a sustained military crackdown to put down a mass protest movement against Assad's rule.

"What the people of Homs need right now is basic supplies such as medicine and baby food. This could be done by air drops into Homs similar to what the United States did in Iraqi Kurdistan in the 1990s," Akko said.

"It is not enough to say to this regime 'stop the killings', because it won't listen. We are dealing with a system based on political prostitution. The regime is acting as if it is not attacking Homs at all and says the bombardment the whole world is seeing is being done by terrorists."