pmaitra
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Sensible comment by Ms. Clinton, given the news below:
The Syrian Crisis
- Thread starter Someoneforyou
- Start date
Sensible comment by Ms. Clinton, given the news below:
Iamanidiot
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In what way i look at it Israel is going to get a lot worse than what it asked for
pmaitra
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^^
Absolutely.
I see no reason why the US has to put diplomatic and/or military assault on countries that are not harming US or supporting organisations that have harmed or want to harm the US. The US is getting drawn into the line of fire every time there is some threat on Israel.
If Assad goes away and the rebels take over, Israel will face a much greater threat. Also, they actually share a physical border, unlike Iran.
Absolutely.
I see no reason why the US has to put diplomatic and/or military assault on countries that are not harming US or supporting organisations that have harmed or want to harm the US. The US is getting drawn into the line of fire every time there is some threat on Israel.
If Assad goes away and the rebels take over, Israel will face a much greater threat. Also, they actually share a physical border, unlike Iran.
pmaitra
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Azerbaijan in row with Iran over 'Israeli spies'
Azerbaijan in row with Iran over 'Israeli spies'
13 February 2012 Last updated at 08:49 ET
BBC News
Azerbaijan has angrily denied an Iranian claim that it has been helping Israeli spies plotting against Iran.
Iran says agents of the Israeli secret service Mossad were behind recent killings of Iranian nuclear scientists.
The latest victim was Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, killed by a car bomb in north Tehran on 11 January.
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called Iran's claim "slander". On Sunday Iran had summoned the Azeri ambassador and given him a protest note.
An Azeri foreign ministry spokesman, Elman Abdullayev, said the Iranian protest was an "absurd reaction" to Azerbaijan's protest last month over an alleged plot by Iranian agents to kill Israelis in Azerbaijan.
Energy-rich Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim country, has a secular government and borders on Iran. Azerbaijan has friendly ties with Israel and the US, who accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Azeri-Iranian relations have long been strained over the large ethnic Azeri minority in northern Iran.
'External interference'
The Iranian protest note to Azerbaijan on Sunday asked the Azeri government to "stop the activities of the Mossad intelligence services in that country against Iran", Iran's Irna news agency said.
Azeri ambassador Cavansir Akhundov was told that "some of the terrorists linked with the terror of Iranian scientists" had travelled to Azerbaijan and then on to Israel "for co-operation with the spying network of the Zionist regime", Irna reported.
The Azeri spokesman insisted on Monday that Azerbaijan "will not permit any external interference or any terrorist activity on its territory".
Iran refuses to negotiate over its uranium enrichment programme, which it says is purely civilian in nature.
Western countries have tightened sanctions against Iran, amid widespread suspicions that Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
In November, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said it had information suggesting Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".
Source: BBC News - Azerbaijan in row with Iran over 'Israeli spies'
Azerbaijan in row with Iran over 'Israeli spies'
13 February 2012 Last updated at 08:49 ET
BBC News
Azerbaijan has angrily denied an Iranian claim that it has been helping Israeli spies plotting against Iran.
Iran says agents of the Israeli secret service Mossad were behind recent killings of Iranian nuclear scientists.
The latest victim was Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, killed by a car bomb in north Tehran on 11 January.
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called Iran's claim "slander". On Sunday Iran had summoned the Azeri ambassador and given him a protest note.
An Azeri foreign ministry spokesman, Elman Abdullayev, said the Iranian protest was an "absurd reaction" to Azerbaijan's protest last month over an alleged plot by Iranian agents to kill Israelis in Azerbaijan.
Energy-rich Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim country, has a secular government and borders on Iran. Azerbaijan has friendly ties with Israel and the US, who accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Azeri-Iranian relations have long been strained over the large ethnic Azeri minority in northern Iran.
'External interference'
The Iranian protest note to Azerbaijan on Sunday asked the Azeri government to "stop the activities of the Mossad intelligence services in that country against Iran", Iran's Irna news agency said.
Azeri ambassador Cavansir Akhundov was told that "some of the terrorists linked with the terror of Iranian scientists" had travelled to Azerbaijan and then on to Israel "for co-operation with the spying network of the Zionist regime", Irna reported.
The Azeri spokesman insisted on Monday that Azerbaijan "will not permit any external interference or any terrorist activity on its territory".
Iran refuses to negotiate over its uranium enrichment programme, which it says is purely civilian in nature.
Western countries have tightened sanctions against Iran, amid widespread suspicions that Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
In November, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said it had information suggesting Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".
Source: BBC News - Azerbaijan in row with Iran over 'Israeli spies'
Virendra
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Iranian warships docked at Syrian naval port. China warns of civil war
Iranian ships reach Syria, China warns of civil war | Reuters
Excerpts:
...
...
I think it is too late to warn of a civil war, that is already on. But I thought Assad's allies wouldn't make a physical military move before the West and Arab.
Regards,
Virendra
Iranian ships reach Syria, China warns of civil war | Reuters
Excerpts:
...
...
...
...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it is too late to warn of a civil war, that is already on. But I thought Assad's allies wouldn't make a physical military move before the West and Arab.
Regards,
Virendra
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Chess pieces have just been moved across the board... I can watch another war on T.V.! 
How Syria Is Splitting Russia and China From the Developing World
How Syria Is Splitting Russia and China From the Developing World - Ted Piccone & Emily Alinikoff - International - The Atlantic
The Security Council's recent failure to condemn Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown in Syria after months of attacks against unarmed civilians would suggest the case is hopeless. Russia and China vetoed a resolution proposing a process for a negotiated transition to democracy despite full backing from the usually anti-interventionist Arab League. The stalemate raises perennial questions about the international community's ability to respond to crises, the legitimacy of the veto power and the doctrine of responsibility to protect that underpinned intervention in Libya. The Syria vote, however, may have strengthened what appears to be an increasingly common view among the world's emerging democracies: dictators determined to stay in power at any cost are no longer tolerable.
The double veto has made international action in Syria all the more difficult. But it also shows that Russia and China are increasingly isolating themselves from a widening consensus that human-rights violations demand an international response. In one corner, established and newer democracies, more attuned to their voters at home, are under pressure to support movements for universal rights. In the opposite corner, China and Russia are silencing domestic dissent at home while trying to prop up comparable autocrats abroad. This divide became abundantly clear when India and South Africa disassociated themselves from their usual affiliates (BRICS) to support the Security Council resolution on Syria. Brazil likely would have joined its democratic cohorts if it were still on the council.
Rising Great Powers?
Rising democracies like India, Brazil and South Africa, along with their counterparts Turkey and Indonesia, are beginning to stand up for human rights in ways that may reshape the international system. India, Brazil and South Africa already self-identify as IBSA, explicitly invoking their democratic identity to differentiate themselves from Russia and China. Adding Turkey and Indonesia--large Muslim-majority democracies--to the group we call IBSATI would further distinguish these states as examples of developing democracies that, unlike Russia and China, have made remarkable economic progress while also expanding the rights of their citizens.
Cooperation with IBSATI and other like-minded democracies, however, requires some skillful diplomacy. We know from their response to the Arab Spring and other democratic transitions that the IBSATI powers share several characteristics when it comes to supporting political reforms in their respective regions and beyond. All five have made unequivocal commitments to democratic and human-rights standards both as a goal of national development and as a principle of their foreign policies. This shared starting point offers an opportunity to find common ground with each other and with more established democracies.
A wide gap exists, however, regarding the preferred methods of international action in this arena. The IBSATI states have a strong preference for softer tools of international intervention: what they call constructive engagement, mediation, quiet diplomacy and dialogue. In contrast, the established democracies are quicker to pursue condemnation, sanctions and even military action in extreme cases such as Libya and Cote d'Ivoire. As members of the Security Council during the Libya intervention, Brazil, India and South Africa wavered between measured support for and skepticism toward military action. But they did not block Western efforts to intervene. They did, however, strongly object to NATO's quick transition to a regime-change strategy, an approach that sowed the seeds for the current impasse over Syria. Even though they endorsed the recent resolution on Syria, India and South Africa had balked at earlier attempts to condemn the killings. They pushed successfully to dilute the text to avoid even implied authorization of force, instead stressing the importance of an inclusive, Syrian-led dialogue for political transition.
IBSATI's preference for mediation and dialogue over intervention can be explained in part by their own domestic narratives. Each country's history of overcoming authoritarian, military, racist and/or colonial legacies--which were directly supported or abetted by Western powers--in favor of constitutional democracy does not translate into unquestioned support for international interventions to protect democracy and human rights. The memory of external impositions and Western endorsement of odious regimes runs deep. The ghost of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq also endures. This leads policy makers in IBSATI countries to prioritize principles of national sovereignty and nonintervention and to oppose traditional means of "regime change" in favor of peaceful, mediated or longer-term processes of change. During the recent Security Council vote on Syria, India and South Africa repeatedly expressed respect for Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
IBSATI's objection to the current distribution of power in the international system has made consensus around Western-led efforts all the more difficult. To varying degrees, IBSATI states demand greater representation in the international order, leading them to oppose certain international actions on grounds of selectivity, double standards and hypocrisy. To secure a permanent seat on the Security Council, states like Brazil and India seek to win as many friends as possible, thereby mitigating overt criticism of nondemocratic regimes and reinforcing bonds of South-South solidarity. Moreover, their common quest for greater equity in the global architecture is often expressed as opposition to UN interventions led by established democratic powers.
All five of these states are intensely focused on carving out influence in their own regions and on playing influential roles in regional organizations. They also increasingly insist on deference to regional institutions as the gatekeepers to wider international intervention in political crises, a position that has the dual benefit, in their view, of limiting Western involvement and reinforcing their own roles as leaders in their respective regions. In a surprising twist, the Arab League endorsed NATO intervention in Libya and is leading the call for UN action on Syria, thereby helping to persuade IBSATI states to go along with a more muscular intervention to protect civilians. In the most recent Syria vote, India and South Africa both cited the Arab League's sponsorship of the resolution as important to their support. Turkey has also made its mark by loudly condemning Assad's barbarous acts and thus burnished its own leadership in the Arab world.
Human Rights Resurgent
The IBSATI countries provide a powerful narrative to reformers that democratic regimes and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. Those worried that democratic deficits in the IBSATI countries may make them poor models for democratization should be more optimistic; the reality provides compelling examples of transition, particularly for states looking for relevant works in progress rather than sermons on democracy.
Rising and established democracies will consistently and publicly clash over preferred methods for protecting human rights. As displayed at the Security Council vote on Syria, however, there is room for cooperation--especially if the relevant regional powers are on board and respect for territorial integrity is explicit.
Russia and China's veto of the Syria resolution made them look like heartless autocrats, under siege at home and fearful of establishing any further role for the international community acting against internal repression. India and South Africa, on the other hand, used the language of human rights: freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the restoration of individual dignity.
Though the international community so far has failed to act in Syria, the popularity of democratic norms among rising democratic powers signals a potentially powerful geopolitical shift in favor of human rights. Western powers would be wise to bring these emerging democratic powers into the fold by incorporating their concerns and getting serious about UN reform. Cooperation with them will not be easy, given their historical skepticism of Western powers and preference for mediated compromises and regional authority. But their common commitment to democratic behavior suggests that they may become close partners with the West, particularly when it comes to defending human rights.
How Syria Is Splitting Russia and China From the Developing World - Ted Piccone & Emily Alinikoff - International - The Atlantic
The Security Council's recent failure to condemn Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown in Syria after months of attacks against unarmed civilians would suggest the case is hopeless. Russia and China vetoed a resolution proposing a process for a negotiated transition to democracy despite full backing from the usually anti-interventionist Arab League. The stalemate raises perennial questions about the international community's ability to respond to crises, the legitimacy of the veto power and the doctrine of responsibility to protect that underpinned intervention in Libya. The Syria vote, however, may have strengthened what appears to be an increasingly common view among the world's emerging democracies: dictators determined to stay in power at any cost are no longer tolerable.
The double veto has made international action in Syria all the more difficult. But it also shows that Russia and China are increasingly isolating themselves from a widening consensus that human-rights violations demand an international response. In one corner, established and newer democracies, more attuned to their voters at home, are under pressure to support movements for universal rights. In the opposite corner, China and Russia are silencing domestic dissent at home while trying to prop up comparable autocrats abroad. This divide became abundantly clear when India and South Africa disassociated themselves from their usual affiliates (BRICS) to support the Security Council resolution on Syria. Brazil likely would have joined its democratic cohorts if it were still on the council.
Rising Great Powers?
Rising democracies like India, Brazil and South Africa, along with their counterparts Turkey and Indonesia, are beginning to stand up for human rights in ways that may reshape the international system. India, Brazil and South Africa already self-identify as IBSA, explicitly invoking their democratic identity to differentiate themselves from Russia and China. Adding Turkey and Indonesia--large Muslim-majority democracies--to the group we call IBSATI would further distinguish these states as examples of developing democracies that, unlike Russia and China, have made remarkable economic progress while also expanding the rights of their citizens.
Cooperation with IBSATI and other like-minded democracies, however, requires some skillful diplomacy. We know from their response to the Arab Spring and other democratic transitions that the IBSATI powers share several characteristics when it comes to supporting political reforms in their respective regions and beyond. All five have made unequivocal commitments to democratic and human-rights standards both as a goal of national development and as a principle of their foreign policies. This shared starting point offers an opportunity to find common ground with each other and with more established democracies.
A wide gap exists, however, regarding the preferred methods of international action in this arena. The IBSATI states have a strong preference for softer tools of international intervention: what they call constructive engagement, mediation, quiet diplomacy and dialogue. In contrast, the established democracies are quicker to pursue condemnation, sanctions and even military action in extreme cases such as Libya and Cote d'Ivoire. As members of the Security Council during the Libya intervention, Brazil, India and South Africa wavered between measured support for and skepticism toward military action. But they did not block Western efforts to intervene. They did, however, strongly object to NATO's quick transition to a regime-change strategy, an approach that sowed the seeds for the current impasse over Syria. Even though they endorsed the recent resolution on Syria, India and South Africa had balked at earlier attempts to condemn the killings. They pushed successfully to dilute the text to avoid even implied authorization of force, instead stressing the importance of an inclusive, Syrian-led dialogue for political transition.
IBSATI's preference for mediation and dialogue over intervention can be explained in part by their own domestic narratives. Each country's history of overcoming authoritarian, military, racist and/or colonial legacies--which were directly supported or abetted by Western powers--in favor of constitutional democracy does not translate into unquestioned support for international interventions to protect democracy and human rights. The memory of external impositions and Western endorsement of odious regimes runs deep. The ghost of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq also endures. This leads policy makers in IBSATI countries to prioritize principles of national sovereignty and nonintervention and to oppose traditional means of "regime change" in favor of peaceful, mediated or longer-term processes of change. During the recent Security Council vote on Syria, India and South Africa repeatedly expressed respect for Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
IBSATI's objection to the current distribution of power in the international system has made consensus around Western-led efforts all the more difficult. To varying degrees, IBSATI states demand greater representation in the international order, leading them to oppose certain international actions on grounds of selectivity, double standards and hypocrisy. To secure a permanent seat on the Security Council, states like Brazil and India seek to win as many friends as possible, thereby mitigating overt criticism of nondemocratic regimes and reinforcing bonds of South-South solidarity. Moreover, their common quest for greater equity in the global architecture is often expressed as opposition to UN interventions led by established democratic powers.
All five of these states are intensely focused on carving out influence in their own regions and on playing influential roles in regional organizations. They also increasingly insist on deference to regional institutions as the gatekeepers to wider international intervention in political crises, a position that has the dual benefit, in their view, of limiting Western involvement and reinforcing their own roles as leaders in their respective regions. In a surprising twist, the Arab League endorsed NATO intervention in Libya and is leading the call for UN action on Syria, thereby helping to persuade IBSATI states to go along with a more muscular intervention to protect civilians. In the most recent Syria vote, India and South Africa both cited the Arab League's sponsorship of the resolution as important to their support. Turkey has also made its mark by loudly condemning Assad's barbarous acts and thus burnished its own leadership in the Arab world.
Human Rights Resurgent
The IBSATI countries provide a powerful narrative to reformers that democratic regimes and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. Those worried that democratic deficits in the IBSATI countries may make them poor models for democratization should be more optimistic; the reality provides compelling examples of transition, particularly for states looking for relevant works in progress rather than sermons on democracy.
Rising and established democracies will consistently and publicly clash over preferred methods for protecting human rights. As displayed at the Security Council vote on Syria, however, there is room for cooperation--especially if the relevant regional powers are on board and respect for territorial integrity is explicit.
Russia and China's veto of the Syria resolution made them look like heartless autocrats, under siege at home and fearful of establishing any further role for the international community acting against internal repression. India and South Africa, on the other hand, used the language of human rights: freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the restoration of individual dignity.
Though the international community so far has failed to act in Syria, the popularity of democratic norms among rising democratic powers signals a potentially powerful geopolitical shift in favor of human rights. Western powers would be wise to bring these emerging democratic powers into the fold by incorporating their concerns and getting serious about UN reform. Cooperation with them will not be easy, given their historical skepticism of Western powers and preference for mediated compromises and regional authority. But their common commitment to democratic behavior suggests that they may become close partners with the West, particularly when it comes to defending human rights.
satish007
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too long topic, only few reasons.
Most possible is Russia and China just want their share in Iraq,Afghanistan,Libya,Yemen. all good goods controlled by US and his allies now.
Syria and Iran will be a good chance to get their share back. diplomacy just like a game between niggard women.
Most possible is Russia and China just want their share in Iraq,Afghanistan,Libya,Yemen. all good goods controlled by US and his allies now.
Syria and Iran will be a good chance to get their share back. diplomacy just like a game between niggard women.
pack leader
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this is a bullshit artical with idiot concepts about reality
there are 4 domestic political players in the ME Iran, turkey, Israel, gcc
and 2 international players USA and Russia
every one and everything else is irrelevant
if you cant buy or enforce your political point of view you will not be taken seriously by any one
end of story
there are 4 domestic political players in the ME Iran, turkey, Israel, gcc
and 2 international players USA and Russia
every one and everything else is irrelevant
if you cant buy or enforce your political point of view you will not be taken seriously by any one
end of story
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I hope Assad comes out on top here. Some farce revolution this! I will believe it to be a true arab revolution when the sheikdoms start to fall. However, the West silently endorsed a GCC military crushing of the Bahrain revolution! Hypocrisy at its finest. Syria should be provided with more arms and the Russians need to help in this matter. I'm sick of all the radical Islamist tin pots being put in power by the West's blessings. Hell, I would have Saddam in power any day over those a-hole terror spreading Wahabbis. Damn the Islamists, and their Western backers. All the power to Assad!
Last edited:
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Lets hope it doesn't happen..for OUR sake.
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so many commotions here based on a single point and they say that religions dont do any harm
GCC ministers to pressure Russia on Syria
.:Middle East Online::GCC ministers to pressure Russia on Syria :.
Gulf foreign ministers will meet their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the Saudi capital next week to discuss developments in Syria, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Thursday.
"A meeting will be held with the Russian foreign minister and the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council on March 7 in Riyadh," Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah told Kuwaiti MPs.
He said the ministers from the six-nation bloc will "express their disappointment with the Russian stance," on the crisis in Syria.
Moscow along with Beijing has twice wielded its Security Council veto to block UN action on the crisis in Syria, first in October last year and again in February.
Sheikh Sabah spoke at an emergency session of the newly elected Kuwaiti parliament called to discuss the escalating crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's regime on anti-government protesters demanding his ouster.
He said that Gulf nations will "call on Syria to take a position that will meet the aspirations of the Syrian people."
The announcement came just three days after Qatar's prime minister said he was in favour of delivering arms to the Syrian opposition that is battling Assad's regime.
"We should do whatever necessary to help them, including giving them weapons to defend themselves," Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani said on a visit to Norway.
"This uprising in Syria now (has lasted) one year. For 10 months, it was peaceful: nobody was carrying weapons, nobody was doing anything. And Bashar continued killing them," Sheikh Hamad told a news conference.
Also this week, Saudi Arabia accused some countries of being complacent on Syria and blocking a solution to the deadly violence.
"The kingdom holds all parties that delay international action (on Syria) morally responsible for developments there, especially if they continue to be complacent and ignore the interests of the Syrian people," a government statement said.
Last month, King Abdullah scolded Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for vetoing the latest Security Council resolution on Syria.
In a telephone call with the Russian leader on February 22, the king said Russia should have "coordinated with the Arabs... before the veto... but now, dialogue about what is happening (in Syria) is futile."
Saudi Arabia has taken a strong stance against Assad's regime and, like the other five GCC member states, expelled the Syrian ambassador last month and recalled its own ambassador from Damascus to protest the "mass slaughter" of civilians.
The king has previously called for "critical measures" to be taken on Syria, warning of an impending "humanitarian disaster".
As well as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the GCC includes Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that well over 7,500 people have been killed in the Syrian regime's crackdown on nationwide protests since March last year.
.:Middle East Online::GCC ministers to pressure Russia on Syria :.
Gulf foreign ministers will meet their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the Saudi capital next week to discuss developments in Syria, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Thursday.
"A meeting will be held with the Russian foreign minister and the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council on March 7 in Riyadh," Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah told Kuwaiti MPs.
He said the ministers from the six-nation bloc will "express their disappointment with the Russian stance," on the crisis in Syria.
Moscow along with Beijing has twice wielded its Security Council veto to block UN action on the crisis in Syria, first in October last year and again in February.
Sheikh Sabah spoke at an emergency session of the newly elected Kuwaiti parliament called to discuss the escalating crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's regime on anti-government protesters demanding his ouster.
He said that Gulf nations will "call on Syria to take a position that will meet the aspirations of the Syrian people."
The announcement came just three days after Qatar's prime minister said he was in favour of delivering arms to the Syrian opposition that is battling Assad's regime.
"We should do whatever necessary to help them, including giving them weapons to defend themselves," Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani said on a visit to Norway.
"This uprising in Syria now (has lasted) one year. For 10 months, it was peaceful: nobody was carrying weapons, nobody was doing anything. And Bashar continued killing them," Sheikh Hamad told a news conference.
Also this week, Saudi Arabia accused some countries of being complacent on Syria and blocking a solution to the deadly violence.
"The kingdom holds all parties that delay international action (on Syria) morally responsible for developments there, especially if they continue to be complacent and ignore the interests of the Syrian people," a government statement said.
Last month, King Abdullah scolded Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for vetoing the latest Security Council resolution on Syria.
In a telephone call with the Russian leader on February 22, the king said Russia should have "coordinated with the Arabs... before the veto... but now, dialogue about what is happening (in Syria) is futile."
Saudi Arabia has taken a strong stance against Assad's regime and, like the other five GCC member states, expelled the Syrian ambassador last month and recalled its own ambassador from Damascus to protest the "mass slaughter" of civilians.
The king has previously called for "critical measures" to be taken on Syria, warning of an impending "humanitarian disaster".
As well as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the GCC includes Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that well over 7,500 people have been killed in the Syrian regime's crackdown on nationwide protests since March last year.
pmaitra
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Syria laying landmines along border: Human Rights Watch
Syria laying landmines along border: Human Rights Watch
13 March 2012 Last updated at 06:42 ET | BBC News
Syria is laying landmines near its borders with Lebanon and Turkey, along routes used by refugees to escape the violence, Human Rights Watch reports.
The New-York based group said it had accounts from witnesses and deminers, amid reported casualties.
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has met the Syrian opposition in Turkey on the latest leg of his peace mission.
He said he is expecting a response from Damascus later to proposals he made during his visit there at the weekend.
The UN says more than 8,000 people - many of them women and children - have been killed since anti-government protests erupted in Syria a year ago.
'Unconscionable'
Human Rights Watch called on Syria to immediately cease laying landmines, calling them "military ineffective" weapons that will mostly kill and injure civilians for years to come.
The group said it had been told by a 28-year-old former Syrian Army deminer that he and a group of friends removed around 300 mines from the Hasanieih area in early March, along routes used by refugees to reach Turkey.
A 15-year-old boy described losing a leg to a landmine after trying to help a friend of a family, wounded in the government assault on the Baba Amr district of Homs, to cross the border into Lebanon.
"I was less than 50-60m [165-195ft] away from crossing the border when the landmine exploded," he said, adding that the friend died.
"Any use of anti-personnel landmines is unconscionable," Steve Goose, Arms Division director at HRW, said. "There is absolutely no justification for the use of these indiscriminate weapons by any country, anywhere, for any purpose."
Syria - which is not among the 159 nations signed up to the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, banning the production, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines - has not publicly commented on the claims.
The size and origin of Syria's stockpile of landmines is not clear, Human Rights Watch said, but is thought to consist mostly of Russian-made - some Soviet-era - weapons such as PMN-2 anti-personnel mines and TMN-46 anti-vehicle mines.
Reports that Syrian troops were laying landmines first emerged last November, when a government official told the Associated Press news agency: "Syria has undertaken many measures to control the borders, including planting mines."
The BBC's Jonathan Head, reporting from Hatay on the Turkish side of the border with Syria, said he had seen refugees arrive who had lost limbs because of the mines.
He said the refugee camp at Hatay, run by the Turkish Red Crescent, is receiving up to 200 refugees a day as they flee the army assault on the city of Idlib and surrounding villages just across the border in Syria.
'Grave concern'
Kofi Annan, the former UN chief who has been appointed by the UN and Arab League to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria, had what he called a "useful meeting" with the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC).
He said they "promised their full cooperation which will be necessary if we are going to succeed".
Mr Annan, who is on the second day of his visit to Turkey, said he expected a response from Damascus later on Tuesday to "concrete proposals" he put forward during his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"Once I receive their answer we will know how to react," he added.
Mr Annan has said his peace mission has three objectives; to bring about a ceasefire, provide access for humanitarian aid and start political dialogue.
But he admitted on Monday, after talks with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, that the diplomatic process would take time and described the situation in Syria as "very complex".
On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the international community to speak with one voice on Syria.
Mrs Clinton told the UN Security Council that Syria's "horrific campaign of violence" had "shocked the conscience of the world".
"We believe that now is the time for all nations - even those who have previously blocked our efforts - to stand behind the humanitarian and political approach spelled out by the Arab League."
Russia and China have blocked resolutions condemning President Assad.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation in Syria remained a "grave concern" but warned that change in the Arab world "must not be achieved by misleading the international community or manipulating the Security Council".
Source: BBC News - Syria laying landmines along border: Human Rights Watch
Syria laying landmines along border: Human Rights Watch
13 March 2012 Last updated at 06:42 ET | BBC News
Syria is laying landmines near its borders with Lebanon and Turkey, along routes used by refugees to escape the violence, Human Rights Watch reports.
The New-York based group said it had accounts from witnesses and deminers, amid reported casualties.
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has met the Syrian opposition in Turkey on the latest leg of his peace mission.
He said he is expecting a response from Damascus later to proposals he made during his visit there at the weekend.
The UN says more than 8,000 people - many of them women and children - have been killed since anti-government protests erupted in Syria a year ago.
'Unconscionable'
Human Rights Watch called on Syria to immediately cease laying landmines, calling them "military ineffective" weapons that will mostly kill and injure civilians for years to come.
The group said it had been told by a 28-year-old former Syrian Army deminer that he and a group of friends removed around 300 mines from the Hasanieih area in early March, along routes used by refugees to reach Turkey.
A 15-year-old boy described losing a leg to a landmine after trying to help a friend of a family, wounded in the government assault on the Baba Amr district of Homs, to cross the border into Lebanon.
"I was less than 50-60m [165-195ft] away from crossing the border when the landmine exploded," he said, adding that the friend died.
"Any use of anti-personnel landmines is unconscionable," Steve Goose, Arms Division director at HRW, said. "There is absolutely no justification for the use of these indiscriminate weapons by any country, anywhere, for any purpose."
Syria - which is not among the 159 nations signed up to the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, banning the production, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines - has not publicly commented on the claims.
The size and origin of Syria's stockpile of landmines is not clear, Human Rights Watch said, but is thought to consist mostly of Russian-made - some Soviet-era - weapons such as PMN-2 anti-personnel mines and TMN-46 anti-vehicle mines.
Reports that Syrian troops were laying landmines first emerged last November, when a government official told the Associated Press news agency: "Syria has undertaken many measures to control the borders, including planting mines."
The BBC's Jonathan Head, reporting from Hatay on the Turkish side of the border with Syria, said he had seen refugees arrive who had lost limbs because of the mines.
He said the refugee camp at Hatay, run by the Turkish Red Crescent, is receiving up to 200 refugees a day as they flee the army assault on the city of Idlib and surrounding villages just across the border in Syria.
'Grave concern'
Kofi Annan, the former UN chief who has been appointed by the UN and Arab League to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria, had what he called a "useful meeting" with the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC).
He said they "promised their full cooperation which will be necessary if we are going to succeed".
Mr Annan, who is on the second day of his visit to Turkey, said he expected a response from Damascus later on Tuesday to "concrete proposals" he put forward during his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"Once I receive their answer we will know how to react," he added.
Mr Annan has said his peace mission has three objectives; to bring about a ceasefire, provide access for humanitarian aid and start political dialogue.
But he admitted on Monday, after talks with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, that the diplomatic process would take time and described the situation in Syria as "very complex".
On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the international community to speak with one voice on Syria.
Mrs Clinton told the UN Security Council that Syria's "horrific campaign of violence" had "shocked the conscience of the world".
"We believe that now is the time for all nations - even those who have previously blocked our efforts - to stand behind the humanitarian and political approach spelled out by the Arab League."
Russia and China have blocked resolutions condemning President Assad.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation in Syria remained a "grave concern" but warned that change in the Arab world "must not be achieved by misleading the international community or manipulating the Security Council".
Source: BBC News - Syria laying landmines along border: Human Rights Watch
pmaitra
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Thus spake British Broadcasting Corporation - indeed a broadcast of British interpretation of the ground situation.
My question is, isn't this very border, that is being used be refugees, also used by rebels to smuggle in NATO supplied weapons into Syria from Turkey? So what's wrong with mining these borders? NATO would like to keep this violence simmering so that they can invade Syria. I think Syria should pull all stops and cull this uprising as soon as possible, and with an iron fist, so as not to give detractors too much time to increase their pressure on him.
NATO, in the meanwhile, might want to concentrate on the murder of Afghan villagers nears Kandahar by a drunk US soldier.
My question is, isn't this very border, that is being used be refugees, also used by rebels to smuggle in NATO supplied weapons into Syria from Turkey? So what's wrong with mining these borders? NATO would like to keep this violence simmering so that they can invade Syria. I think Syria should pull all stops and cull this uprising as soon as possible, and with an iron fist, so as not to give detractors too much time to increase their pressure on him.
NATO, in the meanwhile, might want to concentrate on the murder of Afghan villagers nears Kandahar by a drunk US soldier.
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