UN inaction 'emboldened' Syria

The top United Nations human rights official said that crimes against humanity have likely been committed in the bloody crackdown in Syria.

Speaking before the 193-nation General Assembly, UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said "the nature and scale of abuses committed by Syrian forces" indicated serious crimes had been perpetrated since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March last year.

"The risk of a humanitarian crisis throughout Syria is rising," warned Pillay in her UN address in New York.

"The failure of the Security Council to agree on firm collective action appears to have emboldened the Syrian government to launch an all-out assault in an effort to crush dissent with overwhelming force," Pillay added, referring to a failed Security Council resolution calling for a peaceful transition of power that was vetoed by Russia and China earlier this week.

Pillay said she was "particularly appalled by the ongoing onslaught on Homs," noting that Assad's forces have been using tanks, mortars and artillery in the assault on the city.

"According to credible accounts, the Syrian army has shelled densely populated neighborhoods of Homs in what appears to be an indiscriminate attack on civilian areas," Pillay said.

It is difficult to establish how many people have died in the Syrian conflict, though the figure was more than 5,400 and was rising every day, she said.

"More than 300 people have reportedly been killed in the city [of Homs] since the start of this assault 10 days ago," Pillay said. "The majority of them were victims of the shelling."

Speaking after Pillay, Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, accused the human rights chief of adopting an "unprincipled [stance] against the Syrian government," adding that Syrian opposition forces were trying to "create chaos" and "destroy the foundation of the state."

Their objective, he said, was "to show that the Syrian state is not able to protect its own citizens on its own territory."

Supplies low

The UN went on debating Syria once Pillay had left the podium, with the Arab League urging the Assembly to adopt a draft resolution supporting its plan of action to end the bloodshed. Demands in the draft resemble those of the first failed resolution document, including calling on Assad to begin a political transition to a multi-party, democratic system which would meet opposition demands for freedom.

The UN meeting was being held as the Damascus-based spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the areas hit by the conflict were now struggling to find even basic foodstuffs and provisions.

"The situation has been increasingly violent and it hasn't been easy for people to do anything. The streets are empty, people can't go anywhere to buy food. There is even a problem getting bread," the ICRC's Saleh Dabbakeh told news agency Reuters by telephone.

On Sunday, Arab League foreign ministers agreed to propose a joint UN-Arab League peacekeeping force to be deployed in Syria - an initiative immediately rejected by the regime in Damascus.

The League also agreed to form a new "Friends of Syria" group to increase political and financial support for the Syrian opposition. The regional grouping will also bring a "halt to all kinds of diplomatic cooperation with representatives of the Syrian regime in all states and organizations and international conferences."

dfm/ncy (Reuters, AFP, dpa)