Washington, Nov 19 (ANI): U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that a civil war in Syria is possible if the opposition grows stronger there.
"I think there could be a civil war with a very determined and well-armed and eventually well-financed opposition that is, if not directed by, certainly influenced by defectors from the army," Xinhua quoted Clinton, as saying.
"We're already seeing that, something that we hate to see because we are in favor of a peaceful protest and non-violent opposition," she said, blaming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for provoking the opposition into "taking up arms."
Anti-government protests broke out in mid-March in Syria, and have resulted in some 3,500 deaths so far, as the United Nations estimated.
The U.S., its European allies and the Arab countries have been pressurizing the Syrian President to give up his power. On Wednesday, the Arab League had formally suspended Syria's membership, and gave President Bashar Assad's government three days to implement a peace plan brokered by the bloc to halt the violence and allow in observers from the organization, or face economic sanctions.
"I think that what the Arab League has done, what Turkey has said, has far more weight on opinion within the government and within the society than those of us who are pretty far away," Clinton said.
"There is no appetite for that kind of action vis-vis Syria. Libya was a unique situation.
But it's not applicable to Syria. Syria has its own kind of rhythm, and what the Arab League has done is an unmistakable signal to Assad that 'You're done,'" she added. (ANI)
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