LOC22:54
19:54 GMT
PARIS, Feb 29 (KUNA) -- The French Senate on Wednesday strongly condemned
the repression being carried out by the Syrian government but ruled out any
external, armed intervention to end the crisis and also refused to support
weapons' deliveries for the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
In a statement, the Foreign Affairs Commission at the Senate said that
there was "massive, systematic and daily violence perpetrated against civilian
populations in Syria by the regime of Bashar Al-Assad."
The Commission met in "extraordinary" session in view of the worsening
crisis and the high toll on civilians. Close to 8,000 people are believed to
have died in the past year in the Syrian crisis.
"France and the international community must do everything to avoid that
this country becomes a bed of instability in an extremely sensitive region,"
the Commission said, noting the "merciless repression of populations opposed
to the regime" in Syria.
Full support was expressed for the efforts of Foreign Minister Alain Juppe
to try to bring an end to the conflict and the Commission urged the European
Union to adopt a unified position on the issue.
"The Commission approves the refusal of the French government to arm
opposition forces and the refusal of the hypothesis of an outside military
intervention," the statement affirmed. (end)
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