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Tuesday, September 04, 2012

'Difficult' demand for refugee camps in Syria vexes UN

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on the United Nations to act "without delay" to set up refugee camps inside Syria

The UN Security Council has discussed a request by Turkey to create refugee camps inside Syria.

Turkey's foreign minister told the council to act "without delay", but the UN deputy head said the issue raised "serious questions".
The opposition Syrian National Council has again demanded a no-fly zone.
Earlier, Egypt's president prompted a walkout by Syrian delegates at a summit in Tehran, when he called Syria an "oppressive regime" without legitimacy.
Fighting continued in Syria on Thursday, with rebels saying they had shot down an air force fighter jet in the north-western province of Idlib.
Activists said government forces had responded with shelling in the province, killing 20 people, including eight children.
'Critical consideration' Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu demanded immediate UN action to set up refugee camps inside Syria.

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"How long are we going to sit and watch while an entire generation is being wiped out by random bombardment and deliberate mass targeting?" he said.

Mr Davutoglu said more than 80,000 Syrians had fled to Turkey, with another 4,000 crossing each day, and 10,000 more waiting at the frontier.
He has said Turkey will not be able to cope when the number reaches 100,000.
However, ahead of the UN meeting, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said there would be "considerable difficulties" with the idea.
"We have to be clear that anything like a safe zone requires military intervention and that of course is something that has to be weighed very carefully."
But Mr Hague added: "We are excluding no option for the future."
France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said "large-scale" military resources would be needed to protect refugees but if the conflict worsened "we will have to look at the different solutions".

"Both Iran and Egypt see themselves as the natural leader of the Middle East and this fight is being played out at the summit”

James Reynolds BBC Iran correspondent

Egypt and Iran vie to lead region

Going into the UN meeting, the organisation's Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said of the camps issue: "Such proposals raise serious questions."

The Security Council remains deeply divided on Syria, with both Russia and China staunchly opposed to any external intervention.
They are unlikely to back any military element to the creation of refugee camps.
The difficulties were highlighted by the fact that of the 15 council members, only France, Britain, Colombia, Morocco and Togo sent ministers to the current meeting.
On Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed as "unrealistic" the idea of creating humanitarian buffer zones within Syria.
The Syrian National Council again called for a no-fly zone, to cancel the government's air power monopoly.
In their joint press conference, Mr Hague and Mr Fabius also announced new financial help for the UN's refugee work in Syria.