ASSAD VP SAYS ABSOLUTE VICTORY NO LONGER AN OPTION

The U.S. Department of State called on both sides of the Syrian conflict to “stop unlawful attacks on civilians and comply with international law.” The call came after reports that a number of civilians had been killed or wounded in the Yarmouk district of Damascus, as a result of air raids and fighting between the government and the opposition.

MESOP 24.12.2012 – Hundreds of Palestinians fled Yarmouk refugee camp, while Syrian Alawites were forced out of Idlib by members of Jabhat al-Nusra. The European Union put “all options on the table to support the Syrian opposition,” including the possibility of supplying non-lethal military equipment or arms.

 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron were not in agreement as to whether or not a standing arms embargo should be lifted to allow for such action.

Thomas Donnelly wrote an op-ed highlighting the Obama Administration’s dilemma in addressing Syria’s chemical weapons. Syria’s vice president Farouk al-Sharaa publicly announced that the Syrian Army cannot defeat the armed rebels and the regime now seeks a negotiated settlement. The chief of the Syrian intelligence public relations division, Alaaddin al-Sabbagh, declared that he had defected from “the Assad criminal regime” and urged others to do the same.