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France - Syria

French FM Juppé warns of possible military action in Syria

France has given a strong warning to Syria and held out the threat of seeking military action to end the year-long crackdown after French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé described the UN-backed peace plan for Syria "seriously compromised" 

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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"Things are not going well," Juppé told Syrian opposition members in Paris on Wednesday. "The Annan plan is seriously compromised but there is still a chance for this mediation, on the condition of the rapid deployment of the 300 monitors."

Without quick progress, Juppé said, the international community would have "to move on to another step which we have already started raising with our partners, under Chapter Seven of the United Nations charter."

A Chapter Seven resolution, which can be imposed by the Security Council if member states think peace is threatened by an act of aggression, authorises foreign powers to take measures including military options.

Juppé pointed out however that such a resolution, which was also mooted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, was unlikely to pass, alluding to previous Security Council vetoes from Russia and China.

He said that 5 May, when Annan is to present his next report on the peace process, would be a "a moment of truth."

If the UN mission "is not working, we cannot continue to accept the defiance of the regime" and the international community will have "to move on to other things to stop the tragedy."

He said he hoped Russia would draw the right conclusions from Syria's efforts to block the monitors' deployment.

Meanwhile, at least 27 civilians were killed across the country on Wednesday, including in cities visited by monitors, taking to around 300 the number of people who have died since a ceasefire technically went into effect on 12 April the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

 

 

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