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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Russia Delivers Stern Warning To Ally Syria

<p>Protesters opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad burn an effigy of him during Friday prayers in Tripoli, Lebanon.</p>
Bilal Hussein
/
AP

Protesters opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad burn an effigy of him during Friday prayers in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a blunt message to Syria's leadership on Friday, saying it should either reform or step down.

Medvedev's statement in Moscow was significant because Russia has been one of Syria's strongest allies. Just four days earlier, Russia and China used their U.N. vetoes to block a resolution that could have led to tougher diplomatic measures against Syria.

"If the Syrian leadership is incapable of conducting such reforms, it will have to go, but this decision should be taken not in NATO or certain European countries, it should be taken by the Syrian people and the Syrian leadership," Medvedev said.

At least seven people were killed Friday when Syria's security forces opened fire on rallies across the country, though the capital, Damascus, was relatively quiet.

Heavy Security In The Capital

Today we have a small civil war. We have to say it and it's happening every day in Homs. You don't hear it, maybe nobody hears about it a lot, but it's happening."

At the grand Omayyad Mosque in the old city of Damascus, there was a heavy security presence for the traditional Friday prayers. Soldiers in uniform and plainclothes security men were out in force as President Bashar Assad's government sought to send the message that no protests would be tolerated.

"Today, nobody can win the battle in the street," said Waddah Abd Rabbo, chief editor of Al-Watan newspaper. Like many in Damascus, where support for the government is still strong, he says the protests must end and talks must begin.

"Everybody wants to see reforms in the country," he said, "from both sides. It's not only people who are demonstrating. Reform needs all of us to sit down and decide on the future of the country."

Russia's stern public message to Assad appears to be part of a strategy to promote negotiations. Russia has invited some opposition members to Moscow next week to encourage dialogue with the government.

No Letup In Violence

But the death toll continues to mount.

A Kurdish leader, Mishaal Tammo, was shot dead in his home in northeastern Syria. He was a member of the newly formed opposition group, the Syrian National Council.

In Damascus, another prominent opposition figure, Riad Saif was badly beaten at a rally outside a mosque and rushed to a hospital, according to his family.

This week, activists threw red dye into public fountains. It was intended to shake up this quiet capital and the international community, according to an activist who declined to reveal her name for fear of retaliation.

"We dyed the pools of Damascus," she said. "Damascus is actually bleeding."

More blood has been spilled in Homs, Syria's third largest city, where activists say four people were shot during protests Friday.

A series of targeted killings has shaken Homs - as well as skirmishes between the army and army defectors backed by armed citizens. It is a new phase in the uprising, according to Rabbo, the newspaper chief.

"Today we have a small civil war. We have to say it and it's happening every day in Homs," he said. "You don't hear it, maybe nobody hears about it a lot, but it's happening."

After seven months on the streets, attitudes are hardening. One Damascus activist who supports peaceful protest says it is hard to stop Syrians from defending their homes and families against repeated assaults from a security service determined to crush dissent.

"We keep having these arguments about people who suffered so much and they are rapidly rising to the boiling point," the activist said.

The death count is close to 3,000 now, according to the United Nations. Russia's surprise ultimatum — reform or leave — signals that even Syria's staunchest allies are demanding an end to the bloodshed.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Deborah Amos covers the Middle East for NPR News. Her reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition.