France talks tough on Syria

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe raised the prospect of military intervention in Syria on Wednesday in a sign of growing international frustration at the regime's defiance of a peace deal brokered by UN-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan.

With the death toll in Syria rising daily, Juppe revealed that France had discussed invoking Chapter Seven of the United Nations charter with other world partners. He also demanded that a 300-strong UN observer team be deployed to Syria within two weeks, rather than the three months agreed by the UN deal. There are currently just 15 observers in the country.

"The Damascus regime does not respect the commitments it made. Repression is continuing. Monitors cannot work on the ground. This cannot last indefinitely," he said after meeting Syrian opposition members in Paris.

If the UN mission "is not working, we cannot continue to accept the defiance of the regime," and the international community will have "to move on to other things to stop the tragedy."

If imposed by the UN Security Council, the Chapter Seven resolution would enforce punitive sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's regime. It would also authorize foreign powers to take military action if member states felt peace was being threatened.

Opposition to military action

Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hinted at similar action in order to allow the United Nations to introduce travel and financial sanctions as well as an arms embargo. She did not allude to the prospect of military intervention, however, and until now the US has opposed the further militarization of the conflict.

Russia and China would also be likely to block any military action, having twice used their vetoes as permanent council members to protect Syria from condemnation.

The six-point peace deal, which has been backed by all 15 permanent members of the Security Council, demands that all Syrian government forces be withdrawn from population centers. A ceasefire pact also came into force on April 12. But despite the presence of international monitors, Assad's regime looks no closer to observing the terms of the accord.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured in the city of Hama on Wednesday when an explosion ripped through a building. There have been varying accounts as to the cause of the explosion, but the Observatory said government shelling was to blame.

Another activist group, the grassroots Local Coordination Committee, said the blast was caused by a rocket launched into the building and put the death toll at 54.

At least 15 further civilian deaths were reported across the country, including in cities recently visited by UN monitors.

The Syrian regime has not yet commented on Wednesday's attacks, but it has claimed to be committed to the ceasefire accord. It does, however, reserve the right to respond to what it says are continued attacks by "terrorist groups."

ccp/slk (AFP, Reuters, AP)