Syria denies Assad ready to step down; fighting continues
Heavy fighting continues in Syrian capital as Assad's troops storm district of Midan. Meanwhile, Damascus TV says statement by Russian official regarding regime's end 'taken out of context'
Syrian troops and tanks on Friday drove rebels from a Damascus neighborhood where some of the heaviest of this week's fighting in the capital left cars gutted and fighters' bodies in the streets; as the military struggles to regain momentum after a stunning bombing against the regime's leadership.
At least 100 people were killed in clashes across Syria on Friday, activists said.
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A fourth member of President Bashar Assad's inner circle, national security chief Gen. Hisham Ikhtiyar, died of wounds he suffered in Wednesday's bomb blast, which went off during a high level security meeting in Damascus, the government announced.
The bombing has been a resounding blow to Assad, killing his defense minister and his influential brother-in-law along with another security official, all central to directing the crackdown on the uprising against his rule.
Regime troops were able to regain control of the district of Midan in the southern part of Damascus on Friday. But rebels launched new fighting in several other districts of the capital, activists said.
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Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador to France said Friday that he believes Syria's president is ready to step down "in a civilized way." But the Syrian government immediately denied it.Alexander Orlov said that Assad's acceptance of an international agreement in June for a transition toward a more democratic regime, and his subsequent step of naming a representative to negotiate the transition, meant that he was prepared to give up leadership.
"Personally ... I think it will be difficult for him to stay in office given everything that's happened," Orlov said in an interview with Radio France Internationale.
Syrian TV quickly said that the interview had been taken out of context. Russian Embassy spokesman Sergei Parinov also said the ambassador's statement was "incorrectly interpreted" by international media.
The remarks by the ambassador appeared to be adding a new layer of interpretation to the Geneva agreement, which was based on a UN-brokered peace plan that Syria's president was party to.
Funerals of Assad's top advisors (Photo: AFP)
In fact, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underlined at the time that the plan does not require Assad's ouster, saying there is "no attempt in the document to impose on the Syrian people any type of transitional process."
Russia, which along with China has blocked UN action on the Security Council, has long-standing close ties with Damascus that, through a Syrian port, offers Moscow its only window on the Mediterranean Sea.
Also on Friday, an EU official said that European Union nations will enforce an arms embargo against Syria by boarding ships and aircraft carrying suspicious cargo to the war-torn nation.
The EU has frozen the assets of 43 companies and 128 people believed to be associated with Syrian repression, or benefiting from the regime. About two dozen new names will likely be added next week, said an EU diplomat who could not be named for the same reason.
Roi Kais, AP and AFP contributed to this report
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