Syria rejects calls for Arab troops

2012-01-17 20:13

Beirut - Syria "absolutely rejects" any plans to send Arab troops into the country, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, even as the death toll mounts from 10 months of violent conflict.

Thousands of people have been killed in the regime's crackdown on the anti-Assad revolt, which has turned increasingly militarised in recent months with a growing risk of civil war.

The UN says about 400 people have been killed in the last three weeks, on top of an earlier estimate of more than 5 000 killed since March.

The leader of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, was quoted on Sunday as saying Arab troops should be sent to Syria to stop the deadly violence - the first statements by an Arab leader calling for the deployment of troops inside Syria.

Qatar, which once had close relations with Damascus, has been a harsh critic of President Bashar Assad's crackdown. The wealthy Gulf state withdrew its ambassador to Syria in the summer to protest the killings.

Since the Arab Spring began more than a year ago, Qatar has taken an aggressive role, raising its influence in the region.

"The Syrian people reject any foreign intervention in its affairs, under any title, and would confront any attempt to infringe upon Syria's sovereignty and the integrity of its territories," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The government says terrorists are behind the uprising - not reform-seekers - and that armed gangs are acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilise the country.

Syria's state media, Sana, said on Tuesday that an "armed terrorist group" launched rocket-propelled grenades at an army checkpoint late on Monday, killing an officer and five army personnel about 9 kilometres southwest of Damascus.

- AP