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ISTANBUL, April 1 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged members of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad’s government to halt operations targeting
civilians, or face “serious consequences”.
“Our message must be clear to those who give the orders and
those who carry them out: Stop killing your fellow citizens or
you will face serious consequences,” Clinton said in prepared
remarks at a conference on the Syrian conflict in Istanbul.
“Your countrymen will not forget, and neither will the
international community,” she added.
Clinton also said the United States was providing
communications equipment to Syria’s civilian opposition.
“We are discussing with our international partners how best to
expand this support,” she said.
While the Obama administration has called on Assad to accept
a new peace plan proposed by United Nations-Arab League special
envoy Kofi Annan, the United States has so far shown little
appetite for arming the rebels or intervening militarily along
the lines of the NATO-led operation in Libya last year.
“Nearly a week has gone by, and we have to conclude that the
regime is adding to its long list of broken promises,” Clinton
said of the Assad government’s delay in implementing the peace
plan from U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan despite apparently
accepting it.
(Reporting By Missy Ryan; Editing by Maria Golovnina and Andrew
Osborn)
