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Syrian military defends against mock 'aggression'
- Article by: ALBERT AJI and ZEINA KARAM , Associated Press
- Updated: July 8, 2012 - 8:13 PM
Exercises came against backdrop of failure of international community's peace plan.
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DAMASCUS, SYRIA - In a show of force, Syria carried out large-scale military exercises Sunday to simulate defending the country against outside "aggression."
The maneuvers began Saturday with naval forces in a scenario where they repelled an attack by sea and will include air and ground forces over the next few days, the state-run SANA news agency said.
State TV broadcast footage of missiles being fired from launch vehicles and warships -- an apparent warning to other nations not to intervene in the country's crisis.
Syrian Defense Minister Dawood Rajiha attended the maneuvers and praised the "exceptional performance" of the naval forces, which showed "a high level of combat training and ability to defend Syria's shores against any possible aggression."
The maneuvers are the second to be carried out by the Syrian military since the uprising began 16 months ago.
Damascus' staunch ally Iran warned Sunday of a "catastrophe" in the region if no political solution to the conflict is found.
Iran is Syria's closest ally and has stood by President Bashar Assad's regime throughout the revolt against his rule despite a growing chorus of international condemnation. The bloodshed has accelerated diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the crisis and spurred some in the Syrian opposition to urge the West to intervene militarily to stop a conflict that activists say has left more than 14,000 people dead.
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, dismissed talk of foreign intervention, saying "nobody can imagine a military attack against Syria. We believe it will not happen. If it happens, Syria will defend itself and will not need help from Iran."
Any outside intervention would also likely face strong opposition from Syrian ally Russia, as well as China, which have already shielded Damascus from diplomatic efforts to pressure the regime.
Speaking to reporters in Amman, Jordan, Abdollahian dismissed questions about whether Iran would host Assad if he were to leave Syria, saying the issue of Assad fleeing his country and seeking refuge elsewhere is "a joke."
"He is following up on the situation in Syria. The Syrian people will decide their fate until another president is elected in 2014," he said.
U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan, who is the architect of an international plan to end the crisis, acknowledged in an interview published Saturday that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed. "The evidence shows that we have not succeeded," he told the French daily Le Monde.
Annan arrived in the Syrian capital Sunday for talks with Assad, his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.
Speaking in Japan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Annan's acknowledgement that his peace plan is failing "should be a wake-up call for everyone."
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