Abu Dhabi: The UAE has decided to rush emergency humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians who have taken refuge in neighbouring countries.
The humanitarian gesture comes in line with the UAE’s keenness to provide all forms of humanitarian and charitable support for brotherly and friendly people affected by crises and disasters in different parts of the world.
As a result of the ongoing violence, hundreds of Syrians have fled their homeland and sought shelter in neighbouring countries.
Attacks in Homs resume
In Syria on Wednesday, armoured forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad thrust deeper into the central city of Homs, firing rockets and mortar rounds to subdue opposition districts, activists said, a day after Russia said Al Assad wants peace.
Tanks entered the Inshaat neighbourhood and moved closer to Bab Amro district, which has been the target of the heaviest barrages by loyalist troops that have killed at least 100 civilians in the last two days, activists said.
"Tanks are now at Qubab mosque and soldiers have entered Hikmeh hospital in Inshaat. They also moved closer to Bab Amro and shelling is being heard on Karm Al Zeitoun and Al Bayada," activist Mohammad Al Hassan said by satellite phone from Homs.
"Communications have been cut in many parts of Homs and it is difficult to put together an overall picture. But tanks are in main thoroughfares in the city and appear poised to push deep into residential areas," he added.
The attacks on Homs continued despite the Gulf Cooperation Council saying that its members were recalling their ambassadors from Damascus and expelling Syrian envoys from their own capitals, in response to surging violence.
Al Assad had promised Russia that he will bring an end to bloodshed, but with the continuing violence, Western and Arab states acted to further isolate Al Assad.
The official state news agency said "armed terrorist groups" attacked police roadblocks in Homs and fired mortar bombs at the city, with three falling on the Homs oil refinery, one oftwo in the country. It gave no details of any damage.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, representing a rare ally on a trip to the Syrian capital, said on Tuesday that both countries wanted to revive a monitoring effort by the Arab League, whose plan to resolve Syria's crisis was vetoed by Moscow and Beijing in the UN Security Council.
Violence elsewhere
Tank bombardment also was reported on Zabadani, a town of 20,000 people northwest of Damascus. The town is nestled in the foothills of mountains separating Syria from Lebanon,where armed resistance toAl Assad's rule has been among the fiercest in the country of 21 million.
Two people were killed in the bombardment on Tuesday, bringing the total killed in Zabadani in the past two days to at least 10, activists said. State media said "four specialist force were killed in the Zabadani Plain in Damascus countryside... and the clash resulted in the killing of a number of terrroists"."
An estimated 150 tanks and thousands of troops launched an offensive on Zabadani last week following a withdrawal by Assad's forces last month as a result of a truce reached by Al Assad's brother-in-law and town notables.
Opposition leaders say the bloodshed means it is too late for Al Assad to offer compromises and it is time to dismantle the 50-year-old police state dominated by members of his Alawite sect that keeps him in power.
"It is impossible for Al Assad to govern after bombarding his own cities and towns. He is escalating the use of his military might either to sink Syria into chaos or to improve his negotiating position," opposition leader-in-exile Kamal Al Labwani told Reuters.
"Militarily he cannot win. The bombardment has killed mainly civilians. The fighters in Homs and other cities have been slipping away but they will be back. Al Assad's forces can enter Bab Amro or Zabadani, but they cannot stay there long before receiving painful hits," he added.
Al Labwani said that Russia will either mediate a transitional military council to replace Al Assad.
European Union states followed up their denunciation of the UN veto by preparing a new round of sanctions on Syria, EU diplomats said on Tuesday, with the focus on central bank assets and trade in precious metals, gold and diamonds.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, an ex-ally who has turned against Al Assad, described the UN vetoes as "a fiasco for the civilised world" and said Ankara was preparing a new initiative with those who oppose the Syrian government.
