CNN, 24 Sep 2012 – Opposition figures met Sunday inside Syria — in its capital Damascus, and with the knowledge of its rulers — and urged “toppling the regime” of President Bashar al-Assad “with all its figures and facets.”
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency acknowledged the meeting, which it said included representatives of more than 20 opposition groups. The Syrian National Council, one of the most prominent opposition groups, was not among them.
SANA’s website did not mention conference attendees call for al-Assad’s ouster, instead generally noting heated discussions and claims that some participants felt the forum was divisive. Its story did refer to Russian Ambassador Azamat Kulmukhametov — who addressed the conference — talking about the need for a peaceful, political solution to Syria’s crisis and to prevent foreign intervention.
The state-run news report characterized the conference as a forum “to discuss ways to get Syria out of the risks it is facing.” It also quoted attendees discussing the importance of “dialogue” to address the nation’s crisis, just as Syrian leaders have said for months.
Organizers of the conference later issued a statement detailing positions agreed to by participating parties, political organizations and individuals.
The group’s first stance calls for “toppling the regime with all its figures and facets, which ensures the ability to build a civil democratic state (and) a state of law, justice and equal citizenship regardless of race, sex and religion.”
Furthermore, conference attendees agreed to primarily pursue “non-violent resistance … to accomplish the goals of the revolution.” At the same time, it praised those Syrian troops who had refused to “kill their fellow countrymen” and defected to join the Free Syria Army, which the opposition parties said has a “duty to support, strengthen and defend the peaceful strategy of the revolution.”
The Syrian army itself, the group said in its statement, needs to be extracted “from the clutches of the regime, who have forced this national institution to play a contradictory role in placing it against its countrymen.”
Al-Assad’s government is “primarily responsible for creating the atmosphere that is used for foreign intervention,” attendees added.
Such denouncements of the Syrian regime are nothing new among opposition groups, though it is rare for them to be made in Damascus, effectively under the government’s watch.
A day before the summit began, the event’s organizers — the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change — said that three of its members were detained by Syrian Air Force Intelligence personnel after driving from Damascus International Airport on Thursday.
“We at the National Coordination Body hold the Syrian Authority completely responsible for the physical and mental well being of our members,” the group said in a statement. “We demand that the Syrian regime free them immediately!”
The government’s Information Ministry said the three were “kidnapped by terrorists on the airport highway,” SANA reported Friday, and warned the perpetrators of “legal repercussions.”
Here are other developments Sunday in a 18-month crisis that has left thousands dead and the country in turmoil:
On the ground: Fresh violence, continued fears
As the opposition meeting unfolded, the violence continued — with one opposition group reporting 22 deaths, alone, in and around Damascus.
The opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported at least 85 deaths total around the country, including 21 in Aleppo and 14 in Daraa.
Rebel leadership announces move from Turkey to Syria
State-run SANA said army troops had killed a “large number of terrorists” in Aleppo — the country’s largest city and a key battleground between regime and rebel fighters.
Armed forces “cleared” the area of a restaurant that “terrorists” had been using the as a center of operation, according to the news agency.
Throughout the Syrian conflict, the government has blamed “armed terrorist groups” for fueling violence in the country.
The LCC, meanwhile, said that barrels of TNT fell in the western province of Latakia.
Dissidents have reported an increased use of “barrel bombs” by the Syrian regime in recent weeks. Barrel bombs, often dropped by regime aircraft, are filled with TNT, nails and fuel to try to maximize damage, opposition activists say.
Opposition activists also reported seeing large military reinforcements — including 30 armored vehicles — headed to the hotly contested northern city of Tal Abyad, opposition activists said.
Rebels have been trying to take control of border crossings to secure a haven near Turkey, a country sympathetic to the Syrian opposition movement. But fighting in the border area show no sign of letting up.