Syrian forces unleashed new tank and rocket bombardments on opposition neighbourhoods of Homs on Feb. 11 while diplomats sought UN backing for an Arab plan to end 11 months of bloodshed in Syria. At the United Nations, a new diplomatic showdown was shaping up this weekend. Saudi Arabia circulated a draft resolution backing an Arab peace plan for Syria among members of the UN General Assembly on Feb. 10, diplomats said. The text echoed the one vetoed by Russia and China in the Security Council.
Like the failed resolution, the assembly draft “fully supports” the Arab League plan floated last month, which among other things calls for Assad to step aside. Gulf Arab states, the United States, Europe and Turkey are leading diplomatic effort to force Assad to end his 11-year rule. But they have ruled out a military intervention of the kind that helped bring down Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi last year. Russia and China said the Security Council draft was unbalanced and failed to blame Syria’s opposition, along with the government, for violence in which thousands have died.