Syria slams West over meddling

A top Syrian official has accused Britain, France and the US of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs in a bid to bring the country back to the colonial era.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad said on Monday that Western powers are trying to dominate Syria with the support of the United Nations Security Council.

The Syrian official also denounced the Western countries’ efforts in the UN Security Council to condemn Syria’s response to the current unrest in the country, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported.

“It is about imposing hegemony on Syria and using the United Nations as a way of re-establishing colonialism and to justify interference,” Miqdad said in Beijing during talks with his Chinese counterpart, adding that the recent unrest in Syria was “an attack on Syria that is aimed at destabilizing and weakening the country.”

He also accused “extremist groups with foreign backing of spreading violence, terrorism and destruction… and murdering innocent Syrian citizens.”

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal believe they could get nine votes to pass a UNSC resolution against Syria but still fear a veto by China or Russia, two of the five permanent members who can block any resolution, diplomats said.

Since the beginning of unrest in Syria in mid-March, hundreds of people, including security forces, have been killed.

The opposition accuses security forces of being behind the killings. But the government blames armed gangs for the deadly violence, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

Damascus has announced the arrest of several members of armed terrorist groups, saying that they have confessed to receiving weapons and money from foreign organizations to kill civilians and security forces in a bid to cause chaos in the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to bring those behind the killings to justice.

The Syrian military has confirmed that its troops clashed with terrorists in the region. It says several Syrian troops were also killed in the fighting.