Qatar calls for Arab intervention in Syria

UNITED NATIONS: The emir of Qatar has called for an Arab intervention in Syria and a no-fly zone to protect refugees as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces stepped up the battle for Aleppo.

More than 100 civilians were killed Tuesday in intense fighting across Syria, activists said, as US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders at the UN General Assembly stepped up calls for an end to Assad’s rule.

Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, urged Arab action in the war-torn state because of the failure of the UN Security Council and other international efforts to end the 18-month-old conflict. “It is better for Arab countries themselves to intervene out of their humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed,” Sheikh Hamad told the General Assembly.

Earlier, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, told CNN television that there was a “Plan B” for Syria. “You need to make safe haven areas, first of all,” he said. “That would require a no-fly zone.

“If the Syrians want to break that, that’s another subject. We need somebody to have the teeth to tell them ‘don’t do that’, because that will not be allowed.”

AFP