US slams Russia over Syria arms sales

SYRIA: The United States Thursday lashed Moscow for arming the Syrian government and warned of the threat of civil war, as it stepped up diplomatic pressure on President Bashar al-Assad.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Denmark, said that Russia's policy of resisting UN Security Council action against Damascus was only increasing the chance of civil war erupting.

The Russians "are telling me they don't want to see a civil war. I have been telling them their policy is going (to) help to contribute to a civil war," Clinton said.

At the United Nations, US Ambassador Susan Rice described Russian arms shipments to Syria as "reprehensible" while accusing Damascus of a "blatant lie" by denying involvement in a massacre in which 108 people were killed.

Their comments came after UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned that Syria risked a "catastrophic civil war" following the massacre in the village of Houla last week in which 49 children were killed.

As Syrian rebels threatened to escalate their operations unless Assad's regime meets a 0900 GMT Friday ultimatum to observe a UN-backed ceasefire, activists called for nationwide protests. The rallies will honour the children killed in Houla, activists said on the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page, describing them as "flares of victory".

China and Arab nations meanwhile jointly urged Syria's warring parties to fully implement a UN and Arab League ceasefire plan, which includes a halt in fighting that should have taken effect on April 12 but has been violated daily.

Implementing the plan "is essential to avoid the danger of a foreign intervention and the scenario of anarchy and civil war", the countries said in a statement issued after talks in the eastern Tunisian city of Hammamet.

"The international community must redouble its efforts and exhort the Syrian authorities to strictly and immediately apply the Annan plan," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said. AFP