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Syria faces global pressure
Photo: AFP

Clinton: Syria isn't Libya

Secretary of state tells UN 'Syria is a unique situation that requires its own approach'

WASHINGTON - The Syria crisis requires a different approach than the one utilized in Libya's case, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday, hinting that there will be no military intervention to stop the growing bloodshed in the country.

 

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, Clinton said: "I know that some members here are concerned that we are headed toward another Libya. That is a false analogy. Syria is a unique situation that requires its own approach, tailored to the specific circumstances on the ground."

 

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"It is time for the international community to put aside our own differences and send a clear message of support to the people of Syria," she said.

 

The secretary of state also declared that Syrian President Bashar Assad was doomed, and that sooner or later there will be a new government in Damascus.

 
"קוראים להפסקת אש מיידית". מועצת הביטחון של האו"ם (צילום: AP)

Security Council wants immediate ceasefire in Syria (Photo: AP)

 

"We all know that change is coming to Syria. Despite its ruthless tactics, the Assad regime's reign of terror will end and the people of Syria will chart their own destiny." she said. "The question is how many more innocent civilians will die before Assad bows to the inevitable, and how unstable a country he will leave behind."

 

'Killing machine still at work'

Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby called on the Security Council to take "rapid and decisive action" while Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani warned that Syria's "killing machine is still at work."

 

"Do not let the Syrian people down in its plight," Elaraby said, calling for council backing for a European-Arab draft resolution that endorses the Arab plan.

 

He said Arab nations were trying to avoid foreign military intervention in the 10-month-old Syrian crisis that has killed thousands of civilians, a point Sheikh Hamad also emphasized. The Qatari prime minister suggested the Council should use economic leverage instead.

 

"We are not calling for a military intervention," Sheikh Hamad said. "We are advocating the exertion of a concrete economic pressure so that the Syrian regime might realize that it is imperative to meet the demands of its people."

 

"We are not after regime change, for this is a matter that is up to the Syrian people to decide," he added.

 

Reuters contributed to the story 

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.01.12, 00:36
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