US demands Hezbollah withdrawal from Syria

SYRIA: The US has demanded the immediate withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria, as the Lebanese fighters spearheaded an assault that cut off Syrian rebel fighters in the key central town of Qusayr on Wednesday.

Russia warned that a European Union decision to lift its arms embargo on the rebels fighting to oust its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, harmed the international efforts to end the conflict.

A US-Russian initiative for a peace conference to be held in Geneva next month faces serious hurdles, not least the divisions within Syria’s opposition. After seven days of talks in Istanbul -- four more than scheduled -- the opposition National Coalition said it would only attend the proposed conference if a string of conditions were met, including Assad’s resignation. Meanwhile fears were growing of the Syrian fighting spreading across its borders.

In Geneva, 36 of the 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council voted in favour of a resolution that implicitly refers to the involvement of Hezbollah fighters from neighbouring Lebanon in the fierce battle for Qusayr.

The non-binding text put forward by the United States, Turkey and Qatar “condemned the intervention of foreign combatants fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime.” The United States rejected a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the resolution was “unwholesome” and undermined peace efforts.

“We don’t see this as... undermining in any way” but rather an effort to put rights abuses on record and work towards a solution, said US ambassador to the council Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe. The US State Department for its part demanded the immediate withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters.

“This is an unacceptable and extremely dangerous escalation. We demand that Hezbollah withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

AFP