CAIRO: Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gave a final warning to the Syrian government to stop any and all military operations against civilians following a Syrian bombardment of several residential districts in the city of Latakia on Monday. The port city has been home to mounting protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government. According to Christopher Gunnes, spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), thousands have fled a Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city, some under orders from authorities and some due to gunfire. “Between 5,000 and 10,000 have fled, we don't know where these people are so it's very worrying,” he said. “We have a handful of confirmed deaths and nearly 20 injured.” Jordan has also called for a halt to the violence in Syria, adding to the ever growing diplomatic pressure on Damascus by their neighboring countries. According to the Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh, Palestinian policy is to not interfere with the internal affairs of Arab states. He did however, call on the Syrian authorities “to take measures that prevent the violation of the lives of Palestinian refugees in al-Raml camp,” reported the official Palestinian News Agency (WAFA). “The future of the regimes is in the hands of their people,” he said. Turkey was not so kind. In a news conference, Davutglu issued a threat to the once close ally of Turkey. “This is our final word to the Syrian authorities. Our first expectation is that these operations stop immediately and unconditionally… If these operations do not stop, there will be nothing left to say about the steps that would be taken. “We have been in contact and have repeated our demands and have emphasized our expectations,” he said in news conference in Ankara. “In the context of human rights this cannot be seen as a domestic issue.” Jordan's Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit reportedly spoke with the Syrian Prime Minister on the issue, urging Safar to cease violence immediately saying “there is a need to stop violence immediately, start implementing reforms and resort to dialogue,” state news agency Petra reported. Until now, Jordan has kept quiet about Syria since the uprising began. They have been careful to criticize such a close neighbor with whom they share strong trade connections, despite their differing views on Arab-Israeli peace talks. Jordan has close ties with Saudi Arabia and has been put under pressure to vocally condemn the violent campaign taking place in Syria. In an eerily more common pattern found throughout other major Syrian population centers, tanks and other armored vehicles have laid siege around dissident neighborhoods in Latakia and essential services were cut prior to the raids, arrests and bombardments, according to residents. “People are trying to flee, but they cannot leave Latakia because it is besieged. The best they can do is to move from one area to another within the city,” a witness told Reuters. “The minority regime is playing with fire. We are coming to a point where the people in the street will rather take any weapon they can put their hand on and fight than be shot at, or arrested and humiliated,” one activist said. “We are seeing civil war in Syria, but it is one-sided. The hope is for street protests and international pressure to bring down the regime before it kills more Syrians and drives them to take up arms.” Latakia is the most recent city to be targeted. Other cities include the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, Hama and many towns in the north western Idlib province which borders Turkey. Deir al-Zor is the capital of a tribal province which borders Iraq's Sunni heartland, and Hama is the site of the deadly 1982 massacre which left thousands dead. Latakia residents have claimed that the al-Raml refugee camp has been one of the targets hit by the Syrian forces during the crackdown in the past five months. According to a grassroots activist group, The Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union, the total killed in the thus far three day naval and land assault on the city has risen to at least 31 civilians, among them a two year old girl. Following an eruption of pro-democracy protests in the city of Aleppo, the capital of the Northern Province, Assad replaced the governor according to the official Syrian news agency. So far, the Syrian government has ignored all pressure from both the Middle East and many Western countries, and continues to quell resistances in the cities of Hama, Latakia and Deir al-Zor. BM
