BEIRUT — The regime of President Bashar Assad is
near collapse and now controls only 30% of Syria, the country's former prime
minister said Tuesday in his first comments since defecting to Jordan last
week.
The comments by Riyad Farid Hijab, the highest-ranking official to
defect from the Syrian government, came as the bloodshed in the country
continued. Activists said at least 60 people were killed Tuesday, including at
least six children.
"The regime is on the verge of collapse morally, financially
and economically in addition to cracks in the military," Hijab said at a
news conference televised from the Jordanian capital, Amman.
He urged other political and military leaders to defect and join the
rebel side and called on the exiled opposition to unite.
But in making his comments, Hijab sought to assure those in the
opposition that he was not seeking a political position now or in a free Syria,
which he predicted would come soon. "I consider myself a soldier in the
path of righteousness," he said.
Opposition members and rebel leaders who began calling for Assad's
ouster 17 months ago have both welcomed and regarded with some suspicion some
of the former higher-ranking political and military officials who have joined
the cause only recently.
Assad's regime has been battling the uprising with both military
forces and pro-government militias. In Washington, Defense Secretary Leon E.
Panettasaid that Iran is providing military training to one of the militias,
part of a growing effort by Tehran to prevent armed rebels from driving an ally
from power.
"We are seeing a growing presence by Iran and that is of deep
concern," Panetta told reporters at a Pentagon news conference. "We
do not think Iran ought to be playing that role. It adds to the killing."
The militia, known as the Army of the People, has emerged as a force
over the last year as Syria's military has struggled to put down the rebellion.
Its fighters are drawn mainly from the Shiite and Alawite sects, which form the
core of the regime's support against the largely Sunni Muslim-driven revolt. It
wasn't immediately clear where, or how large, the militia is.
United Nations emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos arrived
Tuesday in Damascus, the Syrian capital, as part of a three-day trip to the
region to discuss humanitarian aid for those trapped by the escalating combat
or forced to flee their homes. Amos' visit came a day after activists said more
than 150 people across the country were killed in the conflict.
Amos is to meet with Syrian authorities, the Syrian Arab Red
Crescent and other humanitarian groups to discuss ways to urgently increase
relief efforts and reduce civilian suffering. In Lebanon, she will meet with
Syrian refugee families and discuss with the Lebanese government and relief
organizations how best to support them.
As fighting in recent weeks has stepped up in areas where people had
previously sought refuge — including Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's commercial
hub — nowhere in the country now seems safe.
The United Nations estimates that 2 million people have been
affected by the conflict between government forces and rebels and more than 1
million have been internally displaced. More than 140,000 people have fled the
violence and crossed into Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations monitoring mission said
that the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by Assad's forces as well as
targeted attacks by the opposition are increasing.
"It is clear that violence is increasing in many parts of
Syria," said Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye of Senegal, speaking at a news
conference in Damascus. "Our patrols are monitoring the impact of this
violence, visiting internally displaced people and hospitals."
The monitoring mission has intensified its efforts to negotiate
"local pauses" to allow assistance to civilians, Gaye said. Monitors
suspended their regular patrols and monitoring activities in mid-June as the
violence escalated.
"The conflict has gone on too long and far too many people are
suffering," he said.
The U.N. monitoring mission, which began in April and has been
criticized for doing nothing to quell the bloodshed, has less than a week
remaining before its authorization expires.
"We will continue to the last minute of our mandate to urge the
parties to move from confrontation to dialogue," he said.
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