Tunisia offers asylum to Assad

The Tunisian government confirmed on Tuesday its offer of asylum to Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad and his family. According to government spokesperson Professor Adnen Mansar, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said he was willing to grant asylum to Assad in order to end the ongoing bloodshed in Syria. Mansar said that Marzouki’s offer reflected the new Tunisian government’s desire to bring an end to the Syrian crisis. “Tunisia, as stated by President Marzouki during his opening speech at the Friends of Syria Conference, seeks a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria.  Slamming all doors in Assad’s face would only escalate the Syrian regime’s fury towards the civilian population,” said Mansar. Mansar believed that the departure of Assad from Damascus to any country, including Tunisia, would solve the current internal conflict in Syria. “We are willing to provide all the help necessary in case such a solution is taken into consideration by the Assad government,” added Mansar. Marzouki’s staff is currently drafting a letter to his Chinese and Russian counterparts in order to address the situation in Syria. According to Mansar, the letter’s full content will be released to the press once it is sent. During the Friends of Syria conference held on February 24, Marzouki urged China and Russia to join the rest of the world in urging Assad to step down and end the bloody crackdown on the 11-month uprising that has allegedly killed over 7,000 people.