Paris/Beirut (dpa) – As the Syrian city of Homs reeled from a 20th consecutive day of bombardments by government forces Thursday, the opposition was looking to a conference in Tunisia to try to turn the tide in the bloody 11-month conflict. Representatives from over 60 countries and multilateral organizations are expected at the Friends of Syria conference in Tunis on Friday. The group is modeled on the Libya Contact Group of countries that supported the rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi's regime last year. Its core members are the 13 United Nations Security Council members that voted in favor of an Arab League resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad's regime on February 4 – a resolution that Russia and China vetoed. The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Turkey and Egypt are among the countries who are sending foreign ministers to the meeting, which will try to bolster the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) and discuss ways of getting aid to people trapped by the fighting. Syria's government has not been invited. Russia has declined to attend. It was not clear if China would attend. Naji Tayyara, the head of the SNC's foreign affairs department, told dpa in Beirut that the opposition grouping hoped to convince Western and Arab states to approve the establishment of humanitarian corridors. France, which led the campaign for a no-fly zone over Libya, has been pushing the idea of humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to people affected by the fighting. Western allies have balked at the proposal as difficult to implement without deploying ground troops. Russia has outright rejected the idea. Analysts say that, with no appetite in the West for foreign intervention in Syria, where Assad, unlike late Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, still enjoys significant support, the conference is more likely to push for a humanitarian ceasefire. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday called for a daily two-hour ceasefire so that it can deliver emergency aid and reach the wounded in areas affected by the fighting. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday dispatched his top official for humanitarian affairs Valerie Amos to Damascus to negotiate access for aid groups. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday the Tunis conference should address the “humanitarian urgency” in the country and boost an “inclusive and united” opposition, led by the SNC. One of the criticisms leveled at the SNC, which is led by France-based professor Burhan Ghaliun, is that those fighting the revolution are underrepresented in it. Contrasting Libya and Syria last week British Prime Minister David Cameron pointed out that in Libya there had been “a clear opposition … that worked on behalf of the whole country.” The SNC's Tayyara told dpa the SNC was aiming to win Western recognition as a legitimate representative of the people. But German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the conference would send a “signal of recognition” but stop short of formal recognition. Tayyara said the SNC would also call on Western and Arab states “to help in supporting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) financially and politically.” The FSA, made up of army defectors believed to number several thousand, has gained in strength and organizational capability in recent weeks but is still woefully under-resourced, compared with Assad's forces. The US particularly has resisted the idea of arming the FSA for fear the weapons could end up in the hands of Islamists. Remarks by White House press secretary Jay Carney Wednesday that the administration did not “rule out additional measures” on Syria was taken by some as an indication the US could be amenable to weapons supplies. But Thomas Pierret, a lecturer in Contemporary Islam at the University of Edinburgh, was sceptical. “The US is terrified at the idea of arming the Syrian opposition. I would even go so far as to say they are terrified by the prospect of the collapse of the regime,” he told dpa. Furthermore, he pointed out, with growing rumblings about the possibility of an attack on Iran, “Syria is not a priority for the US,” he said. Guenter Meyer, a Middle East expert at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz downplayed expectations of strong action in Tunis. “The only chance for a solution would be to get all the Syrian parties around the same table,” Meyer said. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/xZ7Sz Tags: Conference, featured, Tunis, Violence Section: Latest News, Syria, Tunisia
