The long-lasting violence in Syria is gaining momentum recently as severe military showdown is now taking place in several areas in the heart of the capital Damascus, a snub to all political solutions as each party of the conflict is determined to demolish the other by force.
The showdown started Sunday afternoon between regular troops and armed rebels in several neighborhoods of Damascus, which has relatively kept a distance from the violence elsewhere.
The military confrontation came as the armed rebels announced the commencement of the "great battle of Damascus" in a bid to bring down the government's stronghold.
The intensity of the clashes ramped up Wednesday after the rebels managed to blast a meeting room grouping top Syrian officials and cronies to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The killed officials are defense minister, his deputy and assistant vice-president.
The meeting was also attended by many other figures, some of whom were injured, including the interior minister.
The defense ministry pledged to hit back hard and cut the hands of those who dare to undermine the security of the country, as the armed rebels Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the blast and vowed to stage more assaults.
Moreover, the rebels said they will not back down, buoyed by their success in hitting many officials in one hit.Media reports said dozens have been killed over the five-day deadly conflict in and around the capital.
While the military confrontation is on the rise, calls for dialogue sound like a sweet but far fetched dream given the gravity and the volatility of the situation, which has been complex from the very beginning of the national upheaval. Moreover, the West-backed Syrian opposition in exile refused to accept the concept of dialogue, damping all efforts in that regard.
The broad-based opposition contended that a dialogue with a “criminal regime" is of no avail, saying the dialogue would be plausible if it only discussed the way of handing the power over to the revolutionaries.
The anti-government movement has gained momentum after the United States and its Western allies lined up behind the opposition, promising them support and emboldening them to refuse dialogue with the current leadership.
The United States has slapped Syria with many rounds of sanctions and called repeatedly on Assad to renounce power, while at the same time rendering support to the opposition, a tactic which has met discontent by Russia, which called on the West to practice pressure on the opposition to hold talks with the Assad administration to iron out differences and craft a political solution to end the crisis.On Thursday, Russia and China vetoed a West-backed resolution in the UN Security Council, which called on the Syria government to pull out troops from populated areas within 10 days or face non- military sanctions. However, the draft resolution were to be adopted under chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would open doors for a military response if the Syrian government failed to implement the resolution.
Thursday's meeting of the UN Security Council left the future of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) unclear as the mission's mandate ends on July 20.
The head of the mission, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, left Syria on Thursday and headed back to Geneva.
Before his departure, Mood stressed that the situation in Syria is not on track for peace given the escalation of violence over the past few days.
"It pains me to say, but we are not on the track for peace in Syria and the escalation of violence we have witnessed in Damascus over the past few days is a testimony to that," Mood said.
Mood lambasted the military confrontation as it would only increase the suffering of the Syrian people and would not be conducive in ending the conflict.
"I, as a soldier, know more than many that the decision in favor of peace is harder than that of war," Mood said, adding that "it is the fabric of a society that will be deeply damaged by war, and greatly enhanced by the prevalence of peace."
Mood said the government and opposition must make concessions, otherwise the there will be days of suffering for the Syrians, an appeal that seems difficult to take place in the near future.
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