Syria races to restore security

DAMASCUS - The Syrian government is racing against time to restore security and stability as the international community ramps up economic and diplomatic pressure on the country.

Over the past two weeks, Syria stepped up its crackdown on what it calls armed groups. The government accuses these groups of spreading anarchy, committing murders and intimidating civilians.

Meanwhile, countries in the Arab world as well as the West have threatened to tighten economic and diplomatic sanctions on Syria and to render support to the oppositions.

Their recent measures include withdrawing their ambassadors to Syria and promoting the upcoming international meeting called "Friends of Syria".

The meeting, set to be held in Tunisia, reportedly aims to unify the opposition groups as a strong force against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria, through its official media, slammed the proposed meeting as inciting internal rift and expanding the circle of violence.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports suggested that Qatar and Saudi Arabia had urged Jordan to set up camps for gunmen, most likely al- Qaida militants fleeing Iraq.

"Is it by arming the opposition groups that the Syrian crisis would be put to an end?" asked Muneir al-Hamwi, a university student. "We have had enough violence, tension and apprehension... we want to come out of this but of course not through sending more weapons into the country."

Another Syrian man, Mohammad Abbas, said his countrymen "would rather pressure the opposition groups to engage in a dialogue with the government for a peaceful solution".

Some countries have expressed reservations on the Tunisia meeting that would receive representatives of the Arab League, the United Nations, the European Union and the United States. Russia and Lebanon have officially said they will not attend the meeting.

The Russian foreign ministry said the "one-sided" meeting would not help to solve the Syrian crisis when the government is not participating.

Russia is a staunch supporter to a national dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition groups without preconditions as well as coordinated stands between the two sides for carrying out reforms.

Iran, Syria's close ally, said that the West does not hope to see a settlement in Syria, noting that stability in Syria could only be achieved through dialogue.

Some of those who have confirmed their attendance said that the Tunisia meeting aims to prevent Iraq's history being repeated in Syria.

"We should preserve Syria's territorial integrity... we don't want another Iraqi scenario in Syria," said the Tunisian foreign minister, adding that the meeting would send a "strongly-worded" message to the Syrian government, urging it to stop what he called repression against the protesters.

The Syrian government has blamed the unrest in Syria on plots by terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs, and said more than 2,000 army and security personnel were killed during the past months, while the United Nation put the death toll in the Syrian unrest at around 6,000.