Sunni Muslim cleric in Syria thanks Iran for friendship

Against the background of spiraling violence in Syria between troops loyal to the regime of president Bashar Assad and a strengthening opposition, as well as sectarian violence between confessional factions, the top Muslim cleric in the country, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun issued a statement late Wednesday conveying the "thanks of the Syrian people and president for the stance of (Iranian president Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad.” According to the statement, posted on the regime’s main website, Ahmadinejad thanked the Sunni cleric and explained to him that "the main aim of the dominating and bullying powers [the United States and its allies] is to preserve the Zionist regime [Israel]." He added: "the US and its allies are seeking to launch a new war in the region and to break the line of Islamic resistance. But we believe that with wisdom and unity we can stand against them."

Meanwhile, a demonstration in solidarity with the Syrian people was scheduled for Friday and Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, including a predominantly Arab-Israeli demonstration in Jaffa and a candlelight vigil in front of the Russian Embassy to protest Moscow’s recent vetoing of UN Security Council resolutions condemning Assad.

Troops loyal to the regime continued pounding the restive city of Homs with artillery and other heavy weapons on Friday, slaughtering dozens of civilians there and in other cities around the country.

Under the diplomatic cover of China and Russia, the regime has ignored condemnations from around the world.

“I fear that the appalling brutality we are witnessing in Homs, with heavy weapons firing into civilian neighbourhoods, is a grim harbinger of things to come,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon said after briefing the Security Council in New York on Wednesday.

“What we are seeing is horrendous. The result will probably be bloody, and unfortunately the Russians are backing him,” said Turkish diplomat Selim Yenel. “The regime is not just a person, or one family. It’s a big group of people and... they want to hold on to power. That’s why we are fearing it is going to turn into a civil war, and this civil war could turn into a regional conflict.”

“This brutal assault on residential neighbourhoods shows the Syrian authorities’ contempt for the lives of their citizens in Homs,” said Anna Neistat of Human Rights Watch. “Those responsible for such horrific attacks will have to answer for them.”

Several governments have cut diplomatic relations with Damascus, including the new government in Libya, which expelled Syria’s charge d’affaires and his staff on Thursday.