Syria Today: The Battle for Qusayr

Regime bombardment of the town of al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, on Sunday

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British FM: “Compelling” Case for Lifting Arms Embargo

William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, insisted today that there is a “compelling” case for lifting the EU arms embargo against Syria in order to provide further support to rebel groups and increase pressure on the regime.

In a statement to the Commons, he said:

The EU should give strong support to this diplomatic process, including by agreeing further amendments to the arms embargo without taking any decision at present about sending arms to the Syrian opposition.

....Changes to the embargo are not separate to the diplomatic work but essential to it. We must make clear that if the regime does not negotiate seriously at the Geneva conference, no option is off the table.

Hague added that arms would only be dispatched to rebels in coordination with other nations and only in "carefully controlled circumstances" to strengthen “moderates” and avoid the “current trajectory of extremism and murder.”

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Syria Opinion: The Vatican's Dangerous Game On "Persecution" Plays Into Assad's Hands

UPDATE: Two news items signal that the Vatican has reversed course on this narrative, even after pushing the anti-opposition rhetoric harder in the last few days.

The first, and likely most important, news is that the Vatican's ambassador to Syria, Archbishop Nuncio Mario Zenari, has denied that Christians are being targeted by Sunnis. Archibishop Zenari said that for all people, "the descent into hell has started," and even cited UN reports of children being used as human shields.

Archbishop Zenari also signaled that the Church may be in a position to help negotiate:

"It is the Christians' mission to play the role of a link at all levels," he said.

"They're active in very painful situations, such as in Homs where we have priests, nuns and monks ... who are setting an example and risk their lives."

Concerning the issue raised in my original article (below), the Archbishop dismissed claims that Sunnis in the opposition were targeting Christians.

So far, I would say that Christians share the same sad fate as all Syrians (...) I would not say that they are the object of particular discriminations, less so persecutions," said Zenari.

The lot of Christians in Syria today does not compare to that in other countries in the region, he said. "Sometimes it is compared to Iraq, but you cannot compare this."

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