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UNITED NATIONS – The leader of Syria's main opposition group rejected calls Friday by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan for peace talks with President Bashar Assad's government, saying it’s pointless and unrealistic as long as the regime is massacring its own people.
As the prospects for diplomacy faltered, a Turkish official said two Syrian generals, a colonel and two sergeants defected to Turkey on Thursday, a day after a Syrian deputy oil minister also deserted Assad's regime, making him the highest-ranking civilian official to join the opposition.
The military defections are significant as most army defectors so far have been low-level conscripts.
Annan, who has been appointed joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, has said his mission was to start a "political process" to resolve the conflict in the country. He is due in Syria on Saturday where he will meet with Assad, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirmed.
Ban told reporters in New York that Annan also plans to meet with the Syrian opposition before leaving the country on Sunday.
In a telephone interview from Paris, Burhan Ghalioun, who heads the opposition Syrian National Council, told The Associated Press that Annan already has disappointed the Syrian people.
“These kind of comments are disappointing and do not give a lot of hope for people in Syria being massacred every day,” Ghalioun said. “It feels like we are watching the same movie being repeated over and over again.”
“My fear is that, like other international envoys before him, the aim is to waste a month or two of pointless mediation efforts,” he added, referring to Annan.
Tank rounds and mortar bombs
Syrian forces killed at least 54 people on Friday as they sought to quell demonstrations against Assad before the weekend’s peace mission.
Tank rounds and mortar bombs crashed into opposition districts in the rebellious central city of Homs, killing 17 people, activists said, while 24 were killed in the northern province of Idlib and more deaths were reported elsewhere.
"Thirty tanks entered my neighborhood at seven this morning and they are using their cannons to fire on houses," said Karam Abu Rabea, a resident in Homs's Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood.
The U.N. says more than 7,500 people have been killed in the past year since the revolt against Assad erupted in the country's south and engulfed the country. Activists put the death toll at more than 8,000.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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"On December 2, 2011 Ghalioun said that if his regime takes over Syria it would end the military relationship to Iran and cut off arms supplies to Hezbollah and Hamas, and establish ties with Israel." (Wikipedia)
Hope that they will settle thing in a peaceful manner. Without peace talk, how can they proceed? Do they really want to ring on a civil war?
Of course they would want a war with the kind of backing the international community is showering on them. These rebels are Al Qaeda islamists fighting a secular regime and the United States seems intent on arming them alongside the rest of the world. John McCain and Lindsay Graham are the biggest morons on this planet right now and should be put to retirement from lawmaking. These guys (John McCain and Lindsay Graham) wants to arm Al Qaeda with American taxpayer money.
" Opposition chief " is too grand a title for Ghalioun,unless it is part of the Syrian rebel spin.The guy is a chief among many such in the Syrian opposition.He is ,however,backed by Qatar,the proxy for Saudi Arabia.
Well if the opposition is rejecting peace.The only solution then available will be civil war. The government will need to stop fooling around and crush the rebellion as soon as possible.Go into these rebel towns full scale and root the rebels out. Once they're crushed,then start the reforms.
Compare Assad and Sunni Saudi, Kuwaiti, UAE, Bahrain rulers. He is the best among the bad lot!
These Saudi directed Syrian rebels are backed by al-Qaida. Assad should just bomb the most intolerant Sunni Syrian rebels once for all.
Well said Uncle Bob, I am glad that their are others who are using logic and reasoning instead of emotion to view the conflict in Syria. Assad is the best choice among them all for stability and allowing Al Qaeda inspired islamists any influence expansion is the worst possible scenario. Think sharia law, beheadings, mutilations, rape, child molestation, oppressing and murdering minorities. The response of the United States is beyond lunacy in regards to arming these Al Qaeda rebels.
we could arm the opposition but im afraid obama is scared of putin since its okay for russia to keep supplying weapons to kill syria civilians but is obama afraid of what russia might say instead just stands there wont do anything in fear of losing presidental elections. Obama grow a pair because when putin comes to power in a month he be way too tough for you to handle. He very anti west and no way obama can handle putin he would be like wet school girl with legs spread wide open waiting for major ramping this is our president who in past threw allies under the bus. Gives assurances to isreal which is joke cause we know obama wont do @!$%# and sold out eastern europe to russia for nothing in return and now syrian people being butchered and he does nothing im not saying putting troops or air strikes but come on obama do something because if this was in reverse russia would but theres big difference they got strong leader we have whimp
Did these work in Georgia?
Krazy,
You support arming islamist rebels who are fighting alongside and at the direction of Al Qaeda to overthrow a secular government? Look beyond your own emotions and look at the facts of the region and players in this conflict. Assad is taking the best course in crushing an islamist extremist rebellion fighting for islamic supremacy and sharia law.
Syria's barking opposition chief and all the human rights organizations should move to Sunni Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and other places to wash their seventh century dirty laundry.
What have we got to do with those who march: "Down with Amerika", "Down with infidels" and so on?
Earlier the Sunni Islamic religious seventh century Saudi beasts and their puppets had Arab League team headed by a Sudanese Gen with the credit of 300000 Christians' genocide!
Now they have Annan as envoy to Syria.
These seventh century mindset Sunni Islamic Saudi bigoted rulers and their puppets are trying to be too smart for their seventh century desert robes and shoes.
Despite monies they have not become wiser!
Instead it has made them more bigoted, feudal and despotic.
Of course the rebels do not want peace talks as they are terrorists who are backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Al Qaeda. Assad is the best choice in the region for stability, and allowing islamists any chance to expand their influence like in Libya, Iraq, and Yemen should be prevented in Syria.