China's top paper warns against armed intervention in Syria
The People's Daily warns Kofi Annan's peace plan could push Syria into 'abyss of war'; says 'external forces are not qualified to meddle'
China's top state newspaper warned on Monday that any Western-backed military intervention in Syria would unleash even bloodier chaos, and said abandoning envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan could push Syria into the "abyss" of full-scale war.
The People's Daily, the main newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, spelled out the reasons for Beijing's opposition to a tougher response to the massacre last month of 108 people in Houla, which Western and Arab governments blamed on forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. The paper also warned that "external forces are not qualified to meddle".
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"It is easy to imagine the turmoil that would occur should Syria erupt into all-out civil war, triggering Western military intervention," said a commentary in the paper, which generally reflects Chinese government thinking.
The Houla massacre prompted Annan to warn of the growing risk of civil war in Syria, where rebels have urged the international envoy to declare his peace plan dead.
But China's People's Daily said Annan's April 12 ceasefire deal remained the only practical basis for seeking peace in Syria, where government forces have been fighting opposition groups despite the nominal ceasefire.
"If this realistic path to a peaceful resolution of the Syrian issue is blocked, it is entirely likely the country will be pushed into the abyss of outright war," it said.
"At present, the realistic plan for resolving the Syrian issue remains Annan's six points and his peace plan."
The state paper amplified earlier comments from China's Foreign Ministry, which has repeated Beijing's opposition to forceful intervention in Syria.
China traditionally joins with Russia in opposing Western calls for intervention in domestic crises abroad.
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