Rebels gain momentum after Syria bomb attack

Thursday 19 July 2012

A SUICIDE bombing that killed members of Bashar al Assad's inner circle in Damascus as fighting raged in the Syrian capital yesterday shows the uprising is gaining momentum, Washington said, urging other countries to press the president to quit.

ANGER: Syrian and Jordanian protesters shout anti-Assad slogans.

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Dominic Evans and Khaled Yacoub Oweis

The killing of Syria's defence minister Daoud Rajiha, former defence minister Hassan Ali Turkmani and Mr Assad's brother-in-law and deputy defence minister Assef Shawkat will weaken morale and may accelerate high-level defections but does not signal his imminent downfall, analysts warned.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said: "There is real momentum against Assad, with increasing defections, and a strengthened and more united opposition that is operating across the country. We are working urgently with our international partners to push for a political transition in Syria."British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the attack and said it confirms the urgent need for a UN resolution authorising actions ranging from sanctions to military action.Britain has tabled such a resolution along with France, Germany and the United States. It would extend the UN observer mission's operation and back up Kofi Annan's peace plan.Mr Hague said: "The situation in Syria is clearly deteriorating. All the members of the UN Security Council have a responsibility to put their weight behind the enforcement of Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan's plan to end the violence."Mr Annan asked the Security Council to delay a vote planned for yesterday. Russia said the vote would be postponed to today.With four straight days of fighting in Damascus, Moscow said the draft resolution – that it has said it would block – would only worsen the violence.Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "A decisive battle is under way in Syria. It is a dead-end policy to support the opposition. Assad will not go on his own and our Western partners don't know what to do about that."Shi'ite Muslim Iran, which is close to the Syrian leadership, blamed the "terrorist" attack in Damascus on foreign backing.The opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Council, said the attacks heralded a new phase in the crisis and would encourage uprisings in other areas.SNC spokesman George Sabra said: "In the long run we think this operation is the beginning of the end. It is not important to talk about which individuals did the operation but the most important thing is this activity was done by revolutionary activists and the Free Syrian Army." Analyst Gala Riani said the suicide bombing was "in some ways the most successful direct attack on the regime we've had so far." "I think the next few days are going to be crucial in signalling where the conflict goes from here," said Ms Riani, a Middle East analyst at the Control Risks consultancy."But I think it will take more than this to take the Assad regime down."The brazen attack on a meeting of top security officials and ministers in the heart of Damascus will send a message to the top of the Syrian government that its leaders are vulnerable."It sends a stark message that individual ministers are not safe and is likely to accelerate the erosion of the regime's support base," said Anthony Skinner, head of Middle East consultancy Maplecroft.The bombing, claimed by the Free Syrian Army and also by Islamist group Liwa al-Islam, does not alter the fact that the rebels remain hugely outgunned by Assad's forces. Mr Skinner said: "These are significant developments, but I believe the offensive will be repelled."

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Rebels gain momentum after Syria bomb attack

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