From the Syrian front

A dangerous sign that -- now with full awareness of the consequences -- the U.S., Israel, and their allies have decided to end everything. Regime change in Syria is essential to a successful attack on Iran as the two nations have a mutual defense pact. And Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Syria sit  right on Israel's and Lebanon's borders. Knowing that Russia and China will back Iran and have committed to do so, the west has decided to kill everything on the planet to maintain the supremacy of an already-dying U.S. dollar. -- MCR

Saudi Arabia closes embassy in Syria

Pakistan Observer, 

17 March, 2012

Saudi Arabia says it has closed its embassy in Damascus and pulled out its diplomats and staff as Syrian President Bashar Assad steps up attacks against the opposition.

The kingdom has become one of the leading Arab supporters of the Syrian rebels and has appealed for international efforts to study ways to provide aid and weapons to anti-Assad forces. The embassy closure was announced late Wednesday on the official Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Arabia is a main regional rival of Iran, which is a close ally of Assad.

Last month, the Gulf Cooperation Council proposed that all Arab League nations withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Syrian forces fired mortars and heavy machine-guns Wednesday in an attack on the southern city where the anti-government uprising began, propelled by recent military victories over rebels as the opposition fell into disarray.

At least two prominent Syrian dissidents said they have quit the main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, calling it an “autocratic” organization.

The opposition has been hobbled by disorganization and infighting since the popular revolt against President Bashar Assad began a year ago. Its international backers have repeatedly appealed for the movement to pull together and work as one unit.

Even before the high-level resignations, the opposition was already reeling from significant losses over the past few weeks when rebel fighters were largely driven out of two key strongholds — the city of Idlib near the northern border with Turkey and the Baba Amr district in the central city of Homs.

After retaking Idlib earlier this week, government forces launched new attacks Wednesday on Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising.

A Jordan-based spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, Muneef al-Zaeem, said there were tanks in the area and reports of dead and wounded, but that numbers could not be confirmed.

“We are not able to leave our houses. People are panicking because of the shooting,” Daraa resident Abu Ahmed told The Associated Press by phone. “We are fearful because the shells can explode and kill everybody present in our homes.”

Citing its network of sources on the ground, the Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights said 13 civilians were killed when the army stormed into Daraa, and that seven rebels were killed in clashes. The figures could not be independently verify.

The series of government assaults on opposition strongholds has only intensified international pressure on Assad. The U.S. had said it was considering military options to aid the Syrian rebels. But President Barack Obama said Wednesday that military intervention in the conflict would be premature, could lead to civil war and more deaths.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy likened Assad to a “murderer.”—AP