Annan warns of 'all-out' sectarian war in Syria

Doha, June 2, 2012

International peace envoy Kofi Annan warned on Saturday that Syria was slipping into 'all-out' war, and a Syrian opposition figure said Russia had become part of the problem and should urge President Bashar al-Assad to quit power.

'The spectre of an all-out war, with an alarming sectarian dimension, grows by the day,' Annan told a meeting of members of the Arab League, co-sponsor with the United Nations of a peace plan aimed at ending the bloodshed in Syria.

Burhan Ghalioun of the Syrian National Council, the divided body claiming to speak for political opposition to Assad, said: 'With its support of the regime and for Assad remaining, Russia has become part of the problem rather than part of the solution. If it cooperates to find a formula that makes Assad leave, it will become part of the solution.'

Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani of Qatar - which has backed arming Sunni Muslim insurgents fighting to topple Assad, a member of Syria's minority Alawite sect - said Annan should set a time limit for his mission.

He also called on the UN Security Council to put Annan's plan - based on a ceasefire that has yet to take hold, and that is meant to lead to a negotiated end to the Syrian crisis - under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, a measure that could authorise the use of force.

'We want the Security Council to refer the six-point (Annan) plan to a Chapter 7 resolution. We, the international community, cannot accept the situation to continue as it is,' he said.-Reuters

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