Syria impasse boosts opposition military options

Lebanon: The diplomatic impasse on Syria after Russia and China's steadfast refusal to back any UN resolution condemning the ruthless repression of protesters could accelerate the militarisation of the uprising, analysts warn.

Diplomatic solutions to the Syrian crisis have been "exhausted," said Shadi Hamid, head of research at the Brookings Doha Centre, "and now you're seeing serious discussion of the military options." "You're hearing more discussion of safe zones, buffer zones, humanitarian corridors and that's something that the Syrian opposition has requested," he said.

Moscow and Beijing sparked outrage in the West for vetoing on Saturday a UN Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's regime on the 11-month uprising, which activists say has left more than 6,000 people dead.

It was the second time they had done so in four months, and Syria's cold war ally Russia underlined its intention to prevent world powers from forcing the crisis by sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Damascus on Tuesday.

His visit came as government troops stepped up a fierce assault on the flashpoint central city of Homs, where more than 400 people have died since Saturday, according to activists.

The Security Council veto "was the best recruiting tool that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) could have asked for. It puts them in a much stronger position now," Hamid said.

"I think a lot of Syrians are saying 'We tried peaceful protests, it didn't work, now we have to defend ourselves from the repression of the regime'," he added.

Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut (AUB), argued that the diplomatic stalemate at the United Nations did not prevent outside support for the Syrian opposition.

Without having to go through the Security Council, "the West has many options at its disposal for weakening the regime, particularly by supplying the FSA and imposing more economic sanctions," he said. AFP