US foresees no military intervention in Syria

WASHINGTON - The United States said on Thursday that it foresees no military intervention in Syria despite worsening violence and conflict in the Middle East country.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland insisted on provision of non-lethal assistance only for the moment to the Syrian opposition, who are fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

"If you are back on the issue of external military intervention, you know our view that we do not believe that pouring more fuel on this fire is going to save lives," she told reporters at a regular news briefing, saying "We're working in non-lethal ways to support the Syrian opposition."

She stressed that the way out of the ongoing violence in Syria is not "more violence" and "more destruction."

"The route out of this is an end to the violence and the beginning of a true political transition process," she said, adding "The vast majority of Syrians continue not to want foreign military intervention, more weapons flowing into their country."

Washington is working with the opposition on plans and principles to undergird a democratic transition in the country, she noted.

Government and rebel forces have been fighting for the past few days in the capital city of Damascus and Aleppo, the second largest city in the country. Government troops were reportedly sending reinforcements to Aleppo.

"This is the concern that we will see a massacre in Aleppo and that's what the regime appears to be lining up for," Nuland remarked.

Syria has blamed the 17-month unrest on armed terrorists backed by a foreign plot, and al-Assad on Thursday issued a law providing for the establishment of a court to look into terrorism-linked issues.