UN chief warns of “massive repercussions” from Syria crisis

Reuters: U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that Syria’s crisis was extremely dangerous and had “massive repercussions” for the world, as more fighting erupted, with two Damascus suburbs coming under heavy tank bombardment.

 “We do not know how events will unfold. But we do know that we all have a responsibility to work for a resolution of this profound and extremely dangerous crisis,” Ban said in a speech in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The crisis has potentially massive repercussions for the region and the world, he said.

On Wednesday, two large Damascus suburbs came under tank bombardment following renewed Free Syrian Army attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said.

Artillery and anti-aircraft gun barrages hit the suburbs of Harasta and Irbin, retaken from rebels by Assad’s forces two months ago, and army helicopters were heard flying over the area on the eastern edge of the capital, the activists said.

Assad’s forces reasserted their control over Damascus suburbs in January after days of tank and artillery shelling that beat back rebels and reduced street protests against the 42-year rule of Assad and his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad.

The suburbs are a linked series of towns inhabited mostly by members of Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, grown increasingly resentful at the domination of the Assads, who belong to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.

The Damascus assault and rebel fighters’ flight on Tuesday from the eastern city of Deir al-Zor marked the latest setbacks for the armed opposition, which also faced accusations of torture and brutality from a leading human rights body.

But as Assad made advances on the ground, he appeared to lose ground on the diplomatic front, with key-ally Moscow adopting a new, sharper tone after months of publicly standing by his government.

“We believe the Syrian leadership reacted wrongly to the first appearance of peaceful protests and ... is making very many mistakes,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian radio station Kommersant-FM.

“This, unfortunately, has in many ways led the conflict to reach such a severe stage.”

Lavrov also spoke of a “future transition” period for Syria, but continued to reject calls from most Western and Arab states for Assad to resign, saying this was “unrealistic”.

It was not immediately clear if the change in tone would translate into a tangible difference in the way international powers, hitherto divided on Syria, might deal with the crisis.

“The change in the Russian position is one of tone, not of substance. Moscow still sees its support of Assad as part of a regional game, but it is losing the support of the Syrian people, which could backfire on it if the Syrian regime falls,” said Najati Tayyara, a prominent Syrian opposition figure.

The uprising started with non-violent demonstrations last March, but the situation deteriorated rapidly amid a ferocious army crackdown and there are now daily clashes between rebels and security forces around the country.

The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed, but the toll is rising rapidly, with at least 31 men, women and children killed on Tuesday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.