Arab foreign ministers will hold an “urgent meeting” today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the conflict in Syria, Egypt’s Middle East News Agency reported.
The Arab meeting follows consultations on the crisis in Istanbul yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. They announced the creation of a new working group to deal with the threats emanating from the deteriorating regime of Syria’s Bashar Al- Assad, including refugees, terrorism and chemical weapons.
“The number of refugees will keep increasing,” Clinton said, according to comments broadcast on Turkish television and translated into the local language. “No one can predict when this regime will end. But the Syrian people should take measures to keep their unity, rebuild their economy and secure all dangerous weapons, including chemical weapons.”
Clinton was in the country to hold talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian opposition groups. She described any use of Syria’s chemical weapons as “a red line for the world” in remarks broadcast on Al Jazeera.
In July, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi ruled out the use of chemical weapons on Syrians, saying they would only be used in the event of foreign military intervention in Syria, according to Al Jazeera.
[h=2]Annan Replacement[/h]Today, the Arab ministers will discuss the appointment of a replacement for former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as joint UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria, the state-run MENA agency reported, citing Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Helli. Annan, who resigned when his mediating effort failed to stem the bloodshed in Syria, may be replaced with former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi, diplomats said Aug. 9. Brahimi has represented the UN in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan.
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, is meeting in the Muslim holy city of Mecca this week, Ben Helli said. Saudi Arabia has invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a close ally of Assad, to the Mecca summit.
The Obama administration last week announced more sanctions on Assad’s regime to hasten the end of a conflict that’s left more than 21,000 people dead and displaced another 1.5 million.
Clinton said yesterday the U.S. was giving $5.5 million more in humanitarian aid to refugees that have fled the violence into Turkey, bringing the U.S.’s total financial support since the start of the crisis to $82 million.
[h=2]War Crimes[/h]Davutoglu said some of the attacks by Syrian government forces are war crimes. The U.S. and Turkey also are taking steps to ensure that terrorist groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and al-Qaeda, don’t take advantage of conflict in Syria, he said.
“It is our most basic wish that determined steps be taken to stop this tragedy in Syria,” Davutoglu said. “We and the United States have a joint perspective that we should take all necessary measures against terrorist groups.”
Yesterday, armed forces loyal to Assad fought rebels at the center of the capital of Damascus, near the central bank, Al Jazeera reported on its website, citing reports by residents and state-controlled television.
In Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital, government forces continued their battle with rebels, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the Assad regime.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nayla Razzouk in Dubai at [email protected]; Selcuk Gokoluk in Istanbul at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at [email protected]
The Arab meeting follows consultations on the crisis in Istanbul yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. They announced the creation of a new working group to deal with the threats emanating from the deteriorating regime of Syria’s Bashar Al- Assad, including refugees, terrorism and chemical weapons.
“The number of refugees will keep increasing,” Clinton said, according to comments broadcast on Turkish television and translated into the local language. “No one can predict when this regime will end. But the Syrian people should take measures to keep their unity, rebuild their economy and secure all dangerous weapons, including chemical weapons.”
Clinton was in the country to hold talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian opposition groups. She described any use of Syria’s chemical weapons as “a red line for the world” in remarks broadcast on Al Jazeera.
In July, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi ruled out the use of chemical weapons on Syrians, saying they would only be used in the event of foreign military intervention in Syria, according to Al Jazeera.
[h=2]Annan Replacement[/h]Today, the Arab ministers will discuss the appointment of a replacement for former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as joint UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria, the state-run MENA agency reported, citing Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Helli. Annan, who resigned when his mediating effort failed to stem the bloodshed in Syria, may be replaced with former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi, diplomats said Aug. 9. Brahimi has represented the UN in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan.
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, is meeting in the Muslim holy city of Mecca this week, Ben Helli said. Saudi Arabia has invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a close ally of Assad, to the Mecca summit.
The Obama administration last week announced more sanctions on Assad’s regime to hasten the end of a conflict that’s left more than 21,000 people dead and displaced another 1.5 million.
Clinton said yesterday the U.S. was giving $5.5 million more in humanitarian aid to refugees that have fled the violence into Turkey, bringing the U.S.’s total financial support since the start of the crisis to $82 million.
[h=2]War Crimes[/h]Davutoglu said some of the attacks by Syrian government forces are war crimes. The U.S. and Turkey also are taking steps to ensure that terrorist groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and al-Qaeda, don’t take advantage of conflict in Syria, he said.
“It is our most basic wish that determined steps be taken to stop this tragedy in Syria,” Davutoglu said. “We and the United States have a joint perspective that we should take all necessary measures against terrorist groups.”
Yesterday, armed forces loyal to Assad fought rebels at the center of the capital of Damascus, near the central bank, Al Jazeera reported on its website, citing reports by residents and state-controlled television.
In Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital, government forces continued their battle with rebels, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which opposes the Assad regime.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nayla Razzouk in Dubai at [email protected]; Selcuk Gokoluk in Istanbul at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at [email protected]