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| Syria: Troops continue assault on Homs - live updates | Syria: Troops continue assault on Homs - live updates |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.06am: As has become customary in recent days, the Syrian government and opposition are trading accusations over explosions at oil pipelines. No sooner had activists reported an explosion at a pipeline in Baba Amr (see 9.45am) than the Syrian state news agency, Sana, has said an "armed group" has attacked a pipeline in Jobar, also in Homs. | |
| 9.59am: The last remaining member of Hamas's Damascus-based politburo has now left Syria, according to a German news agency report carried by Haaretz. Imad el-Alami, a senior Hamas figure who was deported by Israel in 1991, arrived in Gaza on Sunday, via Egypt. The report says: | |
| Hamas decided to leave Syria in order not to be seen as endorsing the regime of President Bashar Assad in his bloody crackdown against his own people. | |
| 9.45am: An explosion has ripped through an oil pipeline feeding a main refinery in Homs, al-Jazeera is reporting, citing residents and activists. | |
The explosion, the second in a week that hit the pipeline, which carries crude oil from the eastern Rumailan field, occurred in the district of Bab Amr, an opposition stronghold under heavy tank and mortar bombardment and rocket fire by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, they said. | |
| 9.40am: The BBC's Paul Wood, in Homs, spoke live to Radio 4's Today programme in a conversation punctuated by the sound of explosions in the background (thanks to BrownMoses below the line for the link to the Audioboo). He said people fear an invasion by government ground troops. | |
It was a quiet night till just dawn when at 6am we started hearing mortars falling, I would think about one every 30 seconds. That's been going on, on-and-off, for the past two hours. And also some heavier artillery has been used ... | |
| Paul Wood reports from inside Homs as government assault continues (mp3) I spoke to the Free Army Commander last night ...and they have been trying to attack checkpoints on the periphery of this part of Homs but it really is absolutely futile when the government has tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy weapons. We are hearing a report this morning, not confirmed but from an eyewitness saying government troops have been moving up to the outskirts of this part of Homs, not military vehicles or tanks but ground troops. They haven't yet gone through the first rebel checkpoint, the Free Army checkpoint, so there's not yet an invasion but clearly that's what people fear is going to happen over the next day or so. | |
| 9.19am: A number of videos purporting to show the results of today's shelling of Homs have been posted online. This one shows dense black smoke rising: | 9.19am: A number of videos purporting to show the results of today's shelling of Homs have been posted online. This one shows dense black smoke rising: |
| Another purportedly shows the field hospital, which the Local Co-ordination Committees group says was attacked today. (warning: graphic). | Another purportedly shows the field hospital, which the Local Co-ordination Committees group says was attacked today. (warning: graphic). |
| The BBC says the Syrian government has denied shelling Homs. | The BBC says the Syrian government has denied shelling Homs. |
| 8.58am: China's leading Communist party newspaper has defended Beijing's rejection of a United Nations resolution calling for Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, to resign. The People's Daily said western campaigns in Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq showed the error of forced regime change. From the Guardian: | 8.58am: China's leading Communist party newspaper has defended Beijing's rejection of a United Nations resolution calling for Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, to resign. The People's Daily said western campaigns in Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq showed the error of forced regime change. From the Guardian: |
| "The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate and numbers of civilian casualties keep rising. Vetoing the draft security council resolution does not mean we are giving free rein to letting this heart-rending state of affairs continue," said the paper, which echoes government thinking. | "The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate and numbers of civilian casualties keep rising. Vetoing the draft security council resolution does not mean we are giving free rein to letting this heart-rending state of affairs continue," said the paper, which echoes government thinking. |
| China, unlike its western critics, was acting "responsibly" for the sake of the Syrian people, it said. The author used the pen name Zhong Sheng, which can mean "voice of China" and is often used on articles giving Beijing's position on foreign policy. | China, unlike its western critics, was acting "responsibly" for the sake of the Syrian people, it said. The author used the pen name Zhong Sheng, which can mean "voice of China" and is often used on articles giving Beijing's position on foreign policy. |
| "Currently the situation in Syria is extremely complex. Simplistically supporting one side and suppressing the other might seem a helpful way of turning things around, but in fact it would be sowing fresh seeds of disaster." | "Currently the situation in Syria is extremely complex. Simplistically supporting one side and suppressing the other might seem a helpful way of turning things around, but in fact it would be sowing fresh seeds of disaster." |
| 8.47am: In an article for Slate, international affairs commentator Michael Moran looks at the UN security council and points out that the debacle over a resolution on Syria is only the latest of its many failings. It's not only the Russians and the Chinese who cast "narrow, paranoid vetoes", he says - and it's time to put a stop to it. Moran writes: | 8.47am: In an article for Slate, international affairs commentator Michael Moran looks at the UN security council and points out that the debacle over a resolution on Syria is only the latest of its many failings. It's not only the Russians and the Chinese who cast "narrow, paranoid vetoes", he says - and it's time to put a stop to it. Moran writes: |
| The idea that any power should preempt a majority of the planet's most powerful states simply by issuing a veto is the most egregious of all the anachronisms that have survived at the UN ... This veto power – far more than the theatre of the absurd that is the General Assembly – [does] more to undermine the institution than any other single factor. | The idea that any power should preempt a majority of the planet's most powerful states simply by issuing a veto is the most egregious of all the anachronisms that have survived at the UN ... This veto power – far more than the theatre of the absurd that is the General Assembly – [does] more to undermine the institution than any other single factor. |
| Once vetoes are gone, the addition of a set of emerging powers and a consolidation of the French and British seats into a single EU vote would be possible. Japan, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt and perhaps South Africa added as permanent members would force real negotiations on the world's most important issues, transforming the United Nations from a sideshow to the main show. | Once vetoes are gone, the addition of a set of emerging powers and a consolidation of the French and British seats into a single EU vote would be possible. Japan, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt and perhaps South Africa added as permanent members would force real negotiations on the world's most important issues, transforming the United Nations from a sideshow to the main show. |
| 8.44am: Welcome to Middle East Live. The focus is once more on Syria where the bombardment of Homs is continuing. | 8.44am: Welcome to Middle East Live. The focus is once more on Syria where the bombardment of Homs is continuing. |
Syria | Syria |
| • Syrian troops shelled neighborhoods in the restive city of Homs on Monday, a day after President Bashar Assad's government vowed to continue its deadly crackdown on the country's uprising, killing 50 people, the Syrian National Council said. The BBC's Paul Wood, in Homs, described "pretty constant shelling". The bombardment comes two days after another attack on the central Syrian city that activists say killed 200 people, the highest death toll reported for a single day in the 11-month uprising. The Local Co-ordination Committees activist group said Monday's bombardment hit a makeshift hospital in the tense neighborhood of Baba Amr, causing casualties. | • Syrian troops shelled neighborhoods in the restive city of Homs on Monday, a day after President Bashar Assad's government vowed to continue its deadly crackdown on the country's uprising, killing 50 people, the Syrian National Council said. The BBC's Paul Wood, in Homs, described "pretty constant shelling". The bombardment comes two days after another attack on the central Syrian city that activists say killed 200 people, the highest death toll reported for a single day in the 11-month uprising. The Local Co-ordination Committees activist group said Monday's bombardment hit a makeshift hospital in the tense neighborhood of Baba Amr, causing casualties. |
| • Russia may be seeking a "controlled demolition" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule to save its sole major foothold in the Arab world against western rivals when its foreign minister and spy chief hold rare talks in Damascus this week, Reuters reported, citing an analyst at the British think-tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would travel to Syria on Tuesday along with foreign intelligence service director Mikhail Fradkov for talks with Assad. Lavrov revealed nothing about their purpose, but a foreign ministry statement on Sunday indicated he and Fradkov would at least press Assad, who has ruled out resigning and rejected his opponents as "terrorists", to make compromises. | • Russia may be seeking a "controlled demolition" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule to save its sole major foothold in the Arab world against western rivals when its foreign minister and spy chief hold rare talks in Damascus this week, Reuters reported, citing an analyst at the British think-tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would travel to Syria on Tuesday along with foreign intelligence service director Mikhail Fradkov for talks with Assad. Lavrov revealed nothing about their purpose, but a foreign ministry statement on Sunday indicated he and Fradkov would at least press Assad, who has ruled out resigning and rejected his opponents as "terrorists", to make compromises. |
| • Britain is under pressure to withdraw diplomatic recognition of Syria, after Tunisia issued a call for Syria's isolation and protesters clashed with police outside the mission in London, the Telegraph reports. Foreign minister William Hague said: "We constantly review our diplomatic relations. We haven't taken any decision to sever our relations." | • Britain is under pressure to withdraw diplomatic recognition of Syria, after Tunisia issued a call for Syria's isolation and protesters clashed with police outside the mission in London, the Telegraph reports. Foreign minister William Hague said: "We constantly review our diplomatic relations. We haven't taken any decision to sever our relations." |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| • Ignoring a US threat to cut off aid, Egypt has referred 19 Americans and 24 other employees of non-profit groups to trial before a criminal court on accusations they illegally used foreign funds to foment unrest in the country. Egypt's military rulers had already deeply strained ties with Washington with their crackdown on US-funded groups promoting democracy and human rights and accused of stirring up violence in the aftermath of the uprising a year ago that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. | • Ignoring a US threat to cut off aid, Egypt has referred 19 Americans and 24 other employees of non-profit groups to trial before a criminal court on accusations they illegally used foreign funds to foment unrest in the country. Egypt's military rulers had already deeply strained ties with Washington with their crackdown on US-funded groups promoting democracy and human rights and accused of stirring up violence in the aftermath of the uprising a year ago that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. |
| • Egypt will prepare Cairo's Torah prison hospital so it can receive ousted President Hosni Mubarak from the military hospital where he is now detained, an interior ministry official said on Sunday. Protesters, who have clashed with police for four days demanding an end to military rule, have long complained that the ruling generals have been sparing their former commander the humiliation of prison by keeping him in a military hospital. | • Egypt will prepare Cairo's Torah prison hospital so it can receive ousted President Hosni Mubarak from the military hospital where he is now detained, an interior ministry official said on Sunday. Protesters, who have clashed with police for four days demanding an end to military rule, have long complained that the ruling generals have been sparing their former commander the humiliation of prison by keeping him in a military hospital. |
| • Saboteurs on Sunday blew up a pipeline in Egypt that supplied gas to Israel, the 12th such attack in a year, security officials said. Masked gunmen planted explosives under the pipeline near the town of El Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, they said. Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion before a large fire broke out. Sources said that the attack on the pipeline occurred the day after an Islamist leader from the area died in his prison cell in Cairo. Interior ministry officials said he died from natural causes. | • Saboteurs on Sunday blew up a pipeline in Egypt that supplied gas to Israel, the 12th such attack in a year, security officials said. Masked gunmen planted explosives under the pipeline near the town of El Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, they said. Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion before a large fire broke out. Sources said that the attack on the pipeline occurred the day after an Islamist leader from the area died in his prison cell in Cairo. Interior ministry officials said he died from natural causes. |