Syria could become another Somalia, Brahimi says
Damascus (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, expressed fears that the country might "turn into a new Somalia" unless the crisis is not ended soon.
In an interview with the newspaper al-Hayat a few days after a truce brokered by the UN and the international community for Eid al-Adha failed, Mr Brahimi warned that warlords and militia could take over from a failed state. "People, he said, "are talking about the risk of partition in Syria. I do not see partition."
However, the country's 'Somalisation' could destabilise the entire region and lead to large-scale foreign intervention to stop further escalation.
During a visit to the United Arab Emirates to sign military contracts, British Prime Minister David Cameron told al-Arabiya TV that the international community should consider ways to get Assad out of the country and bring him before an international court for a fair trial if he resigned and stopped violence against civilians.
In recent days, more than 200 people died in the country's main cities from army shelling and rebel bombs. In Mezzah Jana, a neighbourhood in the capital, a car bomb killed 11 people, including women and children.
Fighting between rebels and government forces has now also reached the Golan Heights, which are closely patrolled by Israeli forces. Yesterday, an Israeli military vehicle was hit by shots, raising further fears among Syria's neighbours.
Meanwhile, the Syrian National Council (SNC), the main opposition grouping, met in Doha (Qatar) in a general assembly that will end tomorrow.
Yesterday, before the meeting began, SNC leader Abdel Basset Sayda said, "We will attend the meeting with an open heart and mind. But we would like to stress from the start the need to keep the SNC as the cornerstone of the Syrian opposition".
Most rebels in the SNC are against any solution that would see Assad stay on. Only Russia, China and Iran back the embattled president.
In a visit to Jordan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it would dangerous to have a state in the hands of armed rebels, who are still funded by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
According to Russia's top diplomat, SNC rebels have acquired 50 Stinger missiles that they can use against the Syrian air force.
This would compensate for the government's Russian-made planes and helicopters. Moscow has in fact been a close ally of the Syrian regime since soviet times.
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