UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, South African Navanethem Pillay (left) with President of the Human Rights Council, Pole Remigiusz Henczel, at the 23rd session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday.
WASHINGTON: The United States yesterday demanded the immediate withdrawal of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters from Syria, saying their active role in combat there was an “extremely dangerous escalation”.
“This is an unacceptable and extremely dangerous escalation. We demand that Hezbollah withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed last week that the Lebanese Shia movement was actively fighting on the side of its close ally, Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad, in the Syrian town of Qusayr near the border. Psaki also condemned the “outrageous attack” on a Lebanese army checkpoint near the border on Tuesday that killed three soldiers.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, which was condemned by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. “These and other incidents are stark reminders that the conflict in Syria poses an incredibly dangerous threat to Lebanon’s stability, the people of Lebanon and security,” she said. “We call on all parties to do their part to act with restraint and respect Lebanon’s stability and security.”
Hezbollah had long insisted its arsenal of rockets and other weapons would only be used to defend Lebanon from its southern neighbour.
Hezbollah is believed to have sent at least 1,700 fighters to Qusayr more than a week ago to support the regime’s assault on the rebel stronghold. France estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 Hezbollah fighters are operating in Syria. Hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed in Qusayr and thousands could be trapped. Syrian elite troops rushed to bolster a Hezbollah-led offensive against rebels in Qusayr as the UN Human Rights Council condemned the use of foreign fighters in the strategic town.
The Syrian army said it had seized the disused Dabaa military airfield north of Qusayr which had been in rebel hands and that fierce fighting was raging in the area. A military source said the battle for the airfield was fierce and lasted several hours.
The capture of the airfield means that the Syrian army now controls all the roads leading out of Qusayr — a serious setback for rebels still entrenched in the north and west of the town.
Control of Qusayr is essential for the rebels as it is their principal transit point for weapons and fighters from Lebanon while it helps the army consolidate its grip on a key road from Damascus to the coast — the heartland of Assad’s Alawite community. Hezbollah’s Al Manar television showed live images it said were from Dabaa airport taken after the army had recaptured the facility.
Earlier, Russia warned a European Union decision to lift its arms embargo on rebels fighting to oust its ally, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, harmed its joint efforts with the United States to end the conflict. Hopes are building for a US-Russian initiative for a peace conference to be held in Geneva next month, but serious obstacles could still scupper the talks — not least divisions within Syria’s opposition.
In Geneva, 36 of the 47 members of the UN rights body voted in favour of a resolution that implicitly refers to the involvement of fighters from Hezbollah in the fierce battle for Qusayr.
The non-binding text put forward by the United States, Turkey and Qatar “condemns the intervention of foreign combatants fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime in Al Qusayr”.
It also expressed “deep concern” that the involvement of the fighters could “further exacerbate the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation”.
UN rights chief Navi Pillay told the council that “the increasing number of foreign fighters crossing Syria’s borders... is further fuelling the sectarian violence. “The situation is beginning to show worrying signs of destabilising the region as a whole,” she warned.
Meanwhile, Assad is to be interviewed on Hezbollah television today, according to his office.
Meanwhile, his divided opponents in the National Coalition were meeting in Istanbul for an unscheduled seventh day under pressure from Turkey and the US to thrash out a common position on the planned Geneva talks.
A string of top diplomats arrived yesterday at the meeting in what looked like a last-ditch effort to break a deadlock in the Coalition. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and a top French diplomat on Syria were at the meeting along with a Saudi intelligence official and a top Qatari diplomat.
Diplomats at the United Nations said yesterday that Britain had informed the UN of “new incidents” of apparent chemical weapons use in Syria.
AFP
