Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has admitted that “some mistakes” had been made by security forces during the crackdown on dissent in his country.
He was speaking to a delegation from UN Security Council members India Brazil and South Africa, said a statement released by the countries.
The deputy foreign ministers from the three emerging powers met Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem at talks in Damascus to call for an “immediate end to all violence” in Syria, they said.
Assad “acknowledged that some mistakes had been made by the security forces in the initial stages of the unrest and that efforts were underway to prevent their recurrence,” said the statement released by India’s UN mission.
The Syrian president “reassured the delegation of his commitment to the reform process, aimed at ushering in multi-party democracy,” said the statement.
“He said that political reforms were being finalised in consultation with the people of Syria and the national dialogue would continue to give shape to the new laws and to arrive at a suitable model for the economy.”
Assad was quoted as saying that constitutional revisions would be completed by February-March 2012.
Further fatalities in Hama
In stark contrast to Assad’s reassurances, Syrian security forces shot dead 16 people in the protest hub of Homs on Wednesday while withdrawing from the flashpoint city of Hama after a 10-day operation, amid growing outrage over the regime’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Meanwhile, the United States imposed sanctions on Syria’s largest commercial bank and largest mobile phone operator, tightening the noose on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The White House said international criticism is growing against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad because of his “heinous actions”.
“We are all watching with horror at what he is doing to his own people,” White House spokesperson Jay Carney said on Wednesday.
The measures came a day after a defiant Assad pledged to pursue a relentless battle against “terrorist groups,” seemingly oblivious to the mounting international pressure against his regime.
‘Indiscriminate’ gunfire
Security forces “fired indiscriminately on residents of the Baba Amro neighbourhood, killing 11 people”, one of the activists said in Nicosia by telephone from the central city.
The toll was later raised to 16, and at least another 20 wounded.
“Some bodies are lying in the sun and people cannot remove them because of the shooting,” one activist said.
Meanwhile, a correspondent on a government-sponsored tour said dozens of military vehicles crammed with soldiers streamed out of Hama, to which residents were trickling back.
“The army units have gone back to their barracks after having accomplished their mission, and residents, happy to be rid of the armed gangs who tried to sow discord among the population, have returned home,” a high-ranking officer said.
Turkish intervention
That was confirmed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sent his ambassador to Hama to witness the pullout.
“Our ambassador went to Hama and said that the tanks and security forces had started to leave Hama. This is highly important to show that our initiatives had positive results,” Erdogan said in Ankara.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said “the critical thing is that Syria should be open to the world for the developments to be followed. The most important tool to end the speculations and debate is free media access”.
Meanwhile, a military source said troops were also pulling out of one town in the province of Idlib bordering Turkey.
The operation aimed “to hunt down saboteurs and armed groups at the request of Idlib’s residents” and troops are now “returning to their barracks, after achieving their mission”, the source said, adding that she had seen dozens of soldiers stream out of Ariha in the south of Idlib province.
Sermin trouble mounts
But rights activist Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops were conducting a vast operation in the Idlib town of Sermin, where a woman was killed.
“A woman was killed and three other people were wounded in the city of Sermin, where Syrian forces launched a broad military campaign on Wednesday morning,” he said.
Explosions and heavy gunfire also echoed in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor and residents were fearing a new military operations in the city where the army killed 42 people on Sunday and 17 on Tuesday, said Abdel Rahman.
Turkey kept up the pressure on Wednesday with Davutoglu, who delivered a stern message to Assad on Tuesday, saying Damascus should open up to the world and allow free media access.
The authorities have blamed “outlaws”, “saboteurs” and “armed terrorist groups” for the violence that has swept Syria since mid-March, while world powers have accused Syria of violently repressing pro-democracy protests.
Point of no return
Davutoglu’s message said Ankara has “run out of patience”, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr warned that Syria was “heading to the point of no return”.
Amr was due in Turkey on Wednesday to discuss Syria, a day after he asked Assad to end the bloodshed and implement democratic reforms.
Brazil, India and South Africa have all stepped into the diplomatic fray, dispatching envoys to Damascus to seek a solution to the crisis and end the bloody crackdown that has claimed more than 2Â 000 lives since mid-March.
Briefing them, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem echoed Assad, saying security forces were confronting “terrorist groups” and stressing Syria’s rejection of “foreign interference” and “media provocation”.
“Certain Syrian cities are under the grip of armed terrorist groups … [and] troops have been deployed to such cities to restore stability and security,” he said.
Further sanctions imposed
Fresh pressure on Syria came Wednesday from the United States, which imposed sanctions on the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria, its Lebanon-based subsidiaries and telecoms company Syriatel.
The US Treasury said it was “taking aim at the financial infrastructure that is helping provide support to Assad and his regime’s illicit activities”.
The move freezes the US assets of the businesses targeted and prohibits US entities from engaging in any business dealings with them, the Treasury said.
The Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, David Cohen, charged that the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria was “an agent for designated Syrian and North Korean proliferators”.
Troops backed by tanks stormed Hama on July 31, the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to fight “armed groups,” killing 100 people in the single bloodiest day since the crackdown began, activists say.
Stern words
The bloodshed triggered a deluge of international condemnation and prompted the United Nations Security Council, under pressure from European and US leaders, to issue a statement demanding an end to the violence.
Russia backed the statement after refusing along with China to endorse a tougher formal resolution, and has since urged Syria to comply and engage in reform.
Since then three Arab countries, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, have recalled their ambassadors to Damascus for consultations as more Arab voices rose to condemn Syria over its crackdown. — AFP