Red Cross seeks passage to deliver aid in Syria

The Red Cross said on Monday it was in talks with the Syrian authorities and rebels to halt the violence so it can deliver aid amid calls to allow women and children out of the besieged city of Homs. President Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, again accused foreigners of funding and arming "terrorist groups" with the aim of destabilising his unrest-hit country, as Iranian warships docked at the port of tartus in a show of force. "The International Committee of the Red Cross is exploring several possibilities for delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid," said ICRC spokesman Bijan Farnoudi. "These include the cessation of fighting in the most affected areas to facilitate swift Syrian Arab Red Crescent and ICRC access to the people in need." China's influential People's Daily warned that any Western support for the rebels would trigger a "large-scale civil war." But despite a weekend appeal by a visiting Chinese envoy for all sides to stop the violence, monitors said regime forces targeted the central city of Homs for a 17th straight day.Attacks on Homs killed nine out of the 15 people killed across Syria on Monday, according to reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state media. Shelling of Baba Amr, the main rebel stronghold in Homs, killed five civilians, while another four died when rockets hit Al-Malaab district, said the Britain-based Observatory. The official SANA news agency said a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant were killed in a clash between border guards and an "armed terrorist group" in Athraya, central Hama province. Activists and state media reported at least 14 people were killed Sunday, adding to the more than 6,000 people activists say have died in the Assad regime's 11-month crackdown on dissent. "Infantry troops arrived yesterday (Sunday) in Homs," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, told AFP by telephone. A Homs-based activist voiced fears of an imminent attack on Baba Amr, speaking of "unprecedented military reinforcements coming from Damascus." "News has been leaked to us from army officers about a bloody attack that will burn everything in Baba Amr," Hadi Abdullah of the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said on Sunday. "We were expecting the attack two nights ago, but it could have been just delayed because of the snowstorm," he said. A day after saying Baba Amr was being hit by up to five rockets a minute, Abdullah on Monday demanded safe passage to allow women and children to leave the district. "We want women and children to be allowed to leave," he told AFP, adding that "people were suffering from the weather while their conditions are miserable." Abdel Rahman was cautious about the timing of the expected assault on Homs. "We do not know when the attack might happen," he said. Assad, meeting visiting Russian parliamentarians, thanked Russia for its support, saying Syria was being "targeted by armed terrorist groups receiving funding and arms from foreign parties, aiming to destabilise" it, state media said. Meanwhile, Tunisia's Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem speaking after a meeting of Mediterranean foreign ministers, said there had been agreement on the need to avoid "an Iraqi scenario" and preserve Syria's integrity. He also said that the Syrian opposition will take part in a "friends of Syria" conference in Tunisia to be held this week. "The Syrian National Council and other opposition groups will be represented at the Tunis meeting," Abdessalem told reporters, reversing an earlier position that the SNC would not be invited. Elsewhere, two warships from Iran, a key backer of the Syrian regime, docked at Tartus, Tehran's state television reported on Monday, adding that their crew would train Syrian sailors. Iran's navy chief, Admiral Habibollah Sayari, said on Saturday the ships, a destroyer and supply vessel, had passed through the Suez Canal to show the Islamic republic's military "might." In Damascus, regime forces remained on alert after two days of large and unexpected protests, and after a call for a "day of defiance" was observed in restive neighbourhoods, according to activists. Mohammed Shami, a spokesman for activists in Damascus province, said security was bolstered in some areas in the tense neighbourhood of Mazzeh, including around the Iranian embassy. Meanwhile, the Syrian authorities freed blogger Razan Ghazzawi, symbol of an 11-month uprising, and six other female activists arrested last week, human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni said. The women were released on Saturday, but were ordered to report to police daily for questioning, he said. They were part of a group of 14 activists arrested on Thursday in a raid on the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, a group headed by rights activist Mazen Darwish.