'Friends of Syria' conference demands Assad open humanitarian aid corridors

Absent a credible threat of force to stop nearly a year of carnage in Syria, an international conference today has demanded that President Bashar al-Assad end government violence and open humanitarian aid corridors within 48 hours.

As Syrian security forces continued to bombard the city of Homs for a 21st consecutive day, top diplomats of more than 60 nations – the self-styled "Friends of Syria" – met in Tunis to raise pressure on the Syrian regime. Multiple agendas are in play as delegates discuss how to bolster or arm the opposition, whether to insist that Mr. Assad step aside or try to engineer his downfall, and whether elements of the current regime can help ease a crackdown that has so far claimed as many as 8,000 lives. 

The draft resolution crafted at the meeting states that the Syrian National Council (SNC), an umbrella group of regime opponents formed outside the country last fall, would be recognized as "a legitimate representative of Syrians" and receive "practical" support for opposition groups.

Sanctions on Syria are to be stepped up further, but beyond that, concrete steps were limited and there were many signs of division among Syrian opposition groups.

"If the Assad regime refuses to allow this lifesaving aid to reach civilians, it will have even more blood on its hands," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the "Friends of Syria" group in Tunis. She warned Assad: "You will pay a heavy cost for ignoring the will of the international community and violating the human rights of your people."

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani – whose tiny gas-rich emirate secretly sent Qatari special forces, cash, and hardware to Libya last year – called for intervention. 

"There is a need to create an Arab force and open humanitarian corridors to provide security to the Syrian people," Mr. al-Thani told the conference.

Crucial absences

Syria's opposition today revealed publicly for the first time that the Free Syrian Army – made up mainly of Syrian soldiers who have defected, and ad hoc civilians – is already receiving light arms, communications, and night vision equipment.

"It is coming from everywhere, including Western countries and it is not difficult to get anything through the borders," one opposition source told Reuters. "There is not a decision by any country to arm the rebels, but countries are allowing Syrians to buy weapons and send them into the country."

This first Friends of Syria group meeting is modeled on those held last year to support Libya's fledging opposition, which ultimately toppled the regime of Col. Muammar Qaddafi – with extensive NATO military help – within six months.

Absent were Russia and China, whose vetoes of two United Nations Security Council resolutions that condemned the Syrian regime helped prompt the holding of this meeting. Both have called for a "speedy end" to the crisis but done little to stop the Syrian crackdown. Russia has continued to sell arms to the regime, but today the foreign ministry in Moscow called for "an immediate mutual ceasefire" to enable the evacuation of wounded from Homs. 

Lebanon and Syria's minority Kurds and Alawites, the Shiite sect which forms the backbone of the Assad regime, were also absent.

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