Damascus: Security forces killed at least 12
civilians on Saturday, including two children, on the eve of an Arab
League deadline for Syria to stop its lethal crackdown on
protesters.
The latest bloodletting came as Turkey warned of the risk
of civil war and as thousands of protesters took to the
streets to urge nations to expel Syrian ambassadors, in
defiance of massive security force deployments.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for restraint
over the Syrian crisis, after talks with his French
counterpart who accused President Bashar al-Assad of being
deaf to pressure.
"We are calling for restraint and caution. This is our
position," Putin told a Moscow news conference, the day after
his foreign minister had likened the situation in Syria to a
civil war.
Turkey said the risk of civil war was real -- a warning
also echoed by analysts monitoring developments in Syria amid
growing losses among regular army troops at the hands of
mutinous soldiers.
The Arab League said it was examining a Syrian request to
make changes to a proposal to send 500 observers to Damascus
to help implement a peace plan agreed earlier this month.
Facing growing isolation, Syria has been told by its Arab
peers to stop the lethal repression against protesters by 0330
IST tomorrow or risk sanctions, and the Arab League has voted
to expel it from the 22-member bloc.
Iran said the suspension call was "a historic mistake" and
would in itself cause civil war.
PTI
