TURKEY: The opposition Syrian National Council calls for military intervention by Arab and Western governments to protect civilians from President Bashar al-Assad's forces

Record ID: 276333

  • Title: TURKEY: The opposition Syrian National Council calls for military intervention by Arab and Western governments to protect civilians from President Bashar al-Assad's forces
  • Date: 13th March 2012
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (MARCH 12, 2012) (REUTERS) HEAD OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL BURHAN GHALLIOUN AND SPOKESMAN OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL GEORGE SABRA ARRIVING FOR A NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL SPOKESMAN, GEORGE SABRA, SAYING: "We demand military intervention by Arab and Western countries to protect civilians. We dema
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8L00V2P14YDSQS87V7YYEEWAR
  • Story Text: The opposition Syrian National Council called on Monday (March 12) for military intervention by Arab and Western governments to protect civilians from President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
    Speaking in Istanbul, Turkey, George Sabra, a spokesman for the broad-based Syrian National Council, said the opposition wanted humanitarian corridors, safe zones and a no-fly zone to be set up to stop attacks by Assad forces, adding that the SNC had taken a decision to help arm the rebel Free Syrian Army.
    "We demand military intervention by Arab and Western countries to protect civilians. We demand establishment of secured humanitarian corridors and zones to protect the civilians. We demand implementation of a no fly zone over entire Syria to prevent Assad from continuing massacres," Sabra told a news conference.
    Dozens of civilians in Syria's flashpoint city of Homs were killed in cold blood, the government and opposition said on Monday.
    Both dispute responsibility for the massacre, which comes as United Nations envoy Kofi Annan visited the country.
    Annan will meet with representatives of the opposition Syrian National Council in Ankara on Tuesday (March 13).
    "We will tell the U.N. envoy Kofi Annan that the regime is insistent on continuing its massacres. He has seen them himself and made no effort to stop this. We are doing everything to bring an end to this," Sabra said.
    Annan held talks over the weekend with Assad in a bid to negotiate an end to the bloodshed in Syria.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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