Syria allows UN aid workers in, kicks diplomats out
Damascus has agreed to let the UN and international organizations enter the country to provide humanitarian aid, while declaring 17 envoys personae non gratae in response to the expulsion of Syrian diplomats abroad
In and out: Syria agreed on Tuesday to allow UN agencies and other international organizations expand their humanitarian activity on behalf of the some 1 million citizens needing aid as a result of the 15-month-old popular rising against President Bashar Assad.
"This agreement was secured in Damascus with the government there, in writing," John Ging, who chaired the closed-door Syrian Humanitarian Forum, told reporters in Geneva.
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"Freedom of movement, unimpeded access for humanitarian action within Syria, is what it's all about now. The good faith of the (Syrian) government will be tested on this issue today, tomorrow and every day," he said.
Alongside its humanitarian gesture, Syria responded to the expulsion of Syrian diplomats from a number of Western countries in kind, declaring 17 international envoys personae non gratae. Most of them have already left for their home countries.
Assad: Outside forces are to blame for the crisis (Photo: Reuters)
However, the Syrian Foreign Ministry stated that it would still consider renewing relations with the expelled diplomats, which include the mission from Turkey, a former friend.
"Syria still believes in the importance of dialogue based on principles of equality and mutual respect," the Foreign Office wrote in a statement. "We hope that the countries that initiated these steps will adopt these principles, allowing relations to normalize."
Developments on the diplomatic front might be slow, but the actual combat is white-hot. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a number of violent incidents throughout the country. In the coastal Latakia district, rebels fought with government forces that were backed up by helicopter.
Head of the organization Rami Abed al-Rahman said that these were the heaviest firefights seen in the area since the uprising began.
Hama, in central Syria, also witnessed ongoing battles. The observatory reported that six people were killed in an assault on the village of Zeita, which reportedly began after three days of shelling and skirmishes with the local rebels.
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