Excerpts: Syria threatens Lebanon. Assad appeals for BRICS intervention.
Assad plea for help March 17, 2013
+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 17 Mar.’13:”(Lebanon’s) Miqati Said Border
Situation ‘Top Priority’: We’ll Follow-Up on Syria’s Letter”
SUBJECT: Syria threatens Lebanon

QUOTE:”Syrian note that threatened to bomb regions inside Lebanon”

FULL TEXT:Syria threatens LebanonPrime Minister Najib Miqati revealed on
Saturday[16 Mar.] that the Lebanese authorities are giving “top priority” to
the border situation, promising that he will follow-up on the Syrian note
that threatened to bomb regions inside Lebanon.

"The army has been given directions to appropriately deal with violations,”
Miqati said during security meetings he held to discuss the latest
developments on the border.

The talks also tackled the necessary measures to be adopted in this respect.

"We reiterate our calls to different Lebanese factions to abide by the
policy of disassociation towards Syria's conflict”.

The premier has received Syria's foreign ministry's note regarding the
situation on the Lebanese-Syrian border, and stressed that he will follow-up
on this issue “on ground and through diplomatic means”.

The intentions behind the letter are to “preserve the relations between both
countries and to safeguard their interests through fighting violations”,
Miqati's office elaborated.

The PM also discussed with Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji measures
taken by the military institution to prevent any sneaking in of fighters or
weapon smuggling on the border with Syria.

Lebanon has already seen a spillover of the Syrian conflict in recent
months, with frequent clashes in the northern and eastern areas of the
country.

Syrian troops have on several occasions fired shells over the border, while
the Damascus regime accused Lebanon of allowing Sunni fighters to cross
illegally into Syria to join the rebels.

On Thursday[14 Mar.], Syria warned that its forces would fire into Lebanon
if "terrorist gangs" continued to infiltrate the country.

In a letter of protest to Lebanon, the neighboring country's foreign
ministry said: “Armed terrorist gangs have infiltrated Syrian territory in
large numbers from Lebanon".

"Syrian forces have confronted these gangs and clashes are continuing," the
letter said.

+++SOURCE: Naharnet 17 Mar.’13:”Bouthaina Shaaban: Assad urges BRICS
Intervention to End Syria War”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Assad appeals for BRICS intervention

QU OTE: “The BRICS acronym refers to the nations of Brazil, Russia,India,
China and South Africa all developing powers which opposed the use of force
in Libya.”

FULL TEXTSyria's President Bashar Assad on Saturday[16 Mar] called on the
BRICS nations to intervene to end the conflict in his country, in a letter
delivered by his adviser Bouthaina Shaaban during a trip to South Africa.

Speaking to Agence France Presse, Shaaban said she had delivered the letter
to South African President Jacob Zuma ahead of the BRICS summit in South
Africa on March 26.

"Today I passed a message from President Bashar Assad to President Jacob
Zuma, who will preside over the March 26 BRICS summit, on the subject of the
situation in Syria," Shaaban said, reached by telephone from Beirut.

"In this message, President Bashar Assad asks for intervention by the BRICS
to stop the violence in his country and encourage the opening of a dialogue,
which he wishes to start."

Shaaban said during the meeting with Zuma, which was also attended by South
Africa's foreign minister, "the president was very positive and deplored the
destruction affecting this beautiful country."

The BRICS acronym refers to the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa, all developing powers which opposed the use of force in Libya.

SourceAgence France Presse

+++SOURCE: New York Times 17 March 2013:”Assad Issues a Worldwide Plea as a
Top Syrian General Defects”
By ANNE BARNARD
SUBJECT: Assad plea for help
QUOTE:” Mr. Assad’s government went on the political offensive, calling on
Brazil. China, India and other developing powers to help stop the Syrian
conflict and find a political solution to the uprising.”

FULL TEXT:BEIRUT, Lebanon — A high-ranking Syrian general who once led a
military intelligence office widely believed to be a torture site has
defected from the army, he said Saturday[16 Mar.], a day after the rebels’
top military commander again called for members of the armed forces to join
the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, now entering its third year.

But there were no reports of unusually widespread or decisive defections in
response to a video address in English and Arabic released Friday[15 Mar.]
by Gen. Salim Idris, who defected last July and is now the leader of the
Free Syrian Army’s unified military command. Instead, Mr. Assad’s government
went on the political offensive, calling on Brazil, China, India and other
developing powers to help stop the Syrian conflict and find a political
solution to the uprising.

Protests across Syria to observe the uprising’s two-year anniversary were
small and muted compared with the exuberant demonstrations that initially
set off the revolt, underscoring the growing sense that the war is nowhere
near an end. The government remains dug in and is willing to use extreme
force, and a political solution appears remote.

The request for political support from developing nations came in a letter
delivered by an Assad adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban, to the president of South
Africa, who is hosting a meeting next week of the so-called Brics nations:
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

As Europe and the United States weigh stronger action to aid the Syrian
rebels, including directly arming them, Mr. Assad appeared to be appealing
to those nations’ aversion to Western military interventions.

Before the uprising, Ms. Shaaban portrayed herself as an advocate for reform
and modernization, but she has rarely been seen since she offered her
support for the security forces during the early days of the crackdown.

The uprising began peacefully, but elements of the opposition eventually
took up arms after security forces fired on protesters.

The new defector, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Nour Ezzedeen Khallouf, the army’s
chief of supplies and logistics, appeared briefly on Saturday[16 Mar.] in a
broadcast on Al Arabiya.

“Arrangements for the defection from the current Assad regime started a
while ago,” he said. “There was coordination with several sides from various
factions of the Syrian revolution.”

His acceptance into the rebels’ ranks underscores their assertion that they
will welcome anyone who switches sides even now, so deep into the conflict.
General Khallouf previously commanded the Palestine Branch of the military
intelligence department, a Damascus headquarters where, according to rebels
and watchdog groups, many opposition members have been tortured.

Antigovernment activists said that while his high rank was notable among
defectors, his departure would not change things for the government, which
could easily replace him.

As the conflict continues, the Syrian government has increased its use of
cluster bombs, which are widely banned because those that do not explode on
impact often injure civilians who find them, the international watchdog
group Human Rights Watch said in a report issued Saturday[16 Mar.].

In the past six months, the Syrian government has dropped 156 cluster bombs
in 119 places, said Human Rights Watch. Two recent strikes alone killed 11
civilians, including two women and five children, the group said.

Hania Mourtada and Hwaida Saad contributed reporting.

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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA