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UN nations condemn Syria, demand political transition

General Assembly approves Saudi-drafted non-binding resolution, which expressed 'grave concern' at escalating violence in Syria, with 133 votes in favor, 12 against and 31 abstentions

The UN General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to condemn the Syrian government and demanded a political transition in Syria, where 17 months of fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and opposition fighters.

  

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During the session, the 193-nation assembly approved the Saudi-drafted non-binding resolution, which expressed "grave concern" at the escalation of violence in Syria, with 133 votes in favor, 12 against and 31 abstentions.

 

The resolution also had the assembly "deploring the failure of the Security Council to agree on measures to ensure the compliance of Syrian authorities with its decisions."

 

The resolution backs Annan's "demand that the first step in the cessation of violence has to be made by the Syrian authorities." It also demands the lockdown of the regime's chemical and biological weapons.

 

It denounces attacks on children as young as 9 by the Syrian government, military intelligence services and militias. It condemns the increasing Syrian military reliance on heavy weapons, including tanks and helicopters, and "failure to withdraw its troops and heavy weapons to their barracks" in line with Annan's proposals.

 

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jafari called the resolution's main sponsors, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, "despotic oligarchies."

 

"The draft resolution will have no impact whatsoever. It is a piece of theater," he told reporters after the vote. And Iran's No. 2 ambassador, Eshagh Alehabib, called the resolution "one-sided."

 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the 193-nation UN General Assembly that "the acts of brutality that are being reported may constituted crimes against humanity or war crimes.

 

"Such acts must be investigated and the perpetrators held to account," he added.

  

Earlier on Friday, it was reported that mortars shells hit a crowded marketplace in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital, killing 21 people as regime forces and rebels clashed on the southern outskirts of Damascus.

 

The attack on Yarmouk camp came as the government battled rebel fighters in the nearby Damascus suburb of Tadamon on Thursday evening in an attempt to win back control of the last rebel stronghold in the capital, a witness and activists said. Clashes there continued on Friday and sounds of explosions from the neighborhood could be heard as far as the mostly deserted Damascus downtown, with plumes of smoke seen rising into the sky.

 

The UN agency running Palestinian camps confirmed that at least 20 people had died in the shelling of Yarmouk. The Britain-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights, which first reported the deaths, said the mortars hit as shoppers were buying food for the evening meal. The activists with the group would not speculate on who was firing.

 

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.03.12, 20:34
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