BICOM

In the latest indication of the hardening international mood against the Syrian regime, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that Washington estimates that 2000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March. Clinton reiterated that the US considers Assad to have lost legitimacy in Syria and that Washington is currently seeking to develop additional strategies for placing pressure on Damascus, alongside new sanctions announced this week. In an additional setback for the Syrian regime, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has added Moscow’s voice to the growing chorus of international condemnation of Syria. Medvedev said yesterday that Assad needs to ‘urgently’ implement reforms, if he is not to suffer a ‘sad fate.’ Russia’s decision not to object to a UN Security Council statement condemning Assad this week was a significant shift in its stance. Until that point, Moscow had been appearing to stand firm with its Syrian ally against the tide of international criticism.

The hardening international stance against Assad does not appear to be having any effect on the ground in Syria, however. In the city of Hama, a focal point for the uprising, reports indicate that operations by the Syrian military are continuing. Around 130 people have died in the city this week, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. Both regular Syrian army forces, and irregular Alawi militias (the ‘Shabiha’) are reported to be operating in Hama. Troops and Tanks are also massing outside the city of Deir al-Zor, close to Syria’s eastern border with Iraq. With the month of Ramadan under way, protests are now taking place daily throughout Syria. Neither the regime nor protesters appear in any mood to back down, and the violence in Syria looks set to continue.

The Security Council Statement released on Wednesday requires that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon report back to the Security Council in a week on the crisis in Syria. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the UNSC is likely to reconvene and discuss issuing further measures against the regime.