US appears to consider arming Syrian rebels

The US State Department said last night the best outcome for Syria would be a political solution but if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refused this “we may have to consider additional measures”.

Asked about the current US position on the issue of aiding the Syrian opposition militarily, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “We believe that a political solution to this is the best way to go.

“We don’t believe that it makes sense to contribute now to the further militarisation of Syria. What we don’t want to see is the spiral of violence increase. That said, if we can’t get Assad to yield to the pressure that we are all bringing to bear, we may have to consider additional measures.”

Syrian government forces killed more than 60 people yesterday in assaults on villages and an artillery barrage in the city of Homs, activists said, and the Red Cross called for daily ceasefires to let in urgently needed aid.

Activists said at least 30 people died in the bombardment of the Baba Amro neighbourhood of Homs, and at least 33 were killed when forces trying to crush opposition to Assad stormed villages in northern Idlib province.

Fierce violence has hit the capital over the past week, undermining Assad’s assertion that the 11-month-old uprising against his rule is limited to the provinces and the work of saboteurs.

Activist accounts of the violence could not be confirmed. The government bars most foreign journalists from Syria.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had asked authorities and rebels to agree daily ceasefires so life-saving aid can reach civilians in hard-hit areas, including Homs.

“It should last at least two hours every day, so that ICRC staff and Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers have enough time to deliver aid and evacuate the wounded and the sick,” ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger said.

Western and Arab powers that are openly seeking Assad’s downfall are preparing for the inaugural meeting of a Friends of Syria contact group in Tunisia on Friday.

Russia and China back Assad’s own programme for reforms, which includes plans for a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution which would lead to elections in 90 days. Assad says this should satisfy demands for more democracy; his opponents say the proposals are a sham.

Russia said it would not attend the Friends of Syria meeting because the Syrian government would not be represented.

The Russian Foreign Ministry suggested the UN Security Council should send a special humanitarian envoy to Syria.

Russia and China have faced Western and Arab criticism for blocking UN action against Syria. A former Syrian Defence Ministry auditor who defected in January said Moscow’s arms sales to Damascus — nearly $1bn (€750m) last year — had increased since the start of the uprising.