Former UN mission chief: Assad fall a matter of time

[Chris]

Former UN mission chief: Assad fall a matter of time
By REUTERS
07/27/2012 15:01
Annan, Ban meet in London to discuss future of mediation efforts; ICRC evacuates aid workers due to deteriorating security.
General Robert Mood. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled al- Hariri

OSLO - It is just a matter of time before the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad falls because its use of massive force is mobilizing insurgents, General Robert Mood, the former head of the UN monitoring mission in Syria, said on Friday. "In my opinion it is only a matter of time before a regime that is using such heavy military power and disproportional violence against the civilian population is going to fall," the Norwegian general, who left Damascus on July 19, told Reuters.

"Every time there are 15 people killed in a village, 500 additional sympathizers are mobilized, roughly 100 of whom are fighters," Mood said. However, the authoritarian Syrian leader is probably secure in the short term because he has the military capability to hold off the rebels and his eventual fall could be months or even years away, Mood said. "In the short term it may very well be possible for him to (hold on), because the military capabilities of the Syrian army are much much stronger than those of the opposition," Mood said.

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[readytogo]

...and his eventual fall could be months or even years away

And in the meantime, thousands will die.

[Suzanne]

And in the meantime, thousands will die.

That's what I was thinking.

The UN will do nothing but hold more worthless meetings and send more ineffective monitors in harm's way.