Saudis support Syrian uprising
Minister says citizens have right to defend themselves
BEIRUT – Saudi Arabia said Sunday that Syrians have a right to take up arms to defend themselves against the regime and accused the Damascus government of “imposing itself by force,” as concerns mounted over a humanitarian crisis there.
In a rare televised news conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said the kingdom welcomed international efforts to broker a cease fire in Syria but added that they have “failed to stop the massacres.”
“Is there something greater than the right to defend oneself and to defend human rights?” he said, adding that the Syrian people want to defend themselves. “The regime is not wanted by the people,” he said.
“The regime is insisting on imposing itself by force on the Syrian people,” he said.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been discussing military aid the to the Syrian opposition, but the U.S. and others have not advocated arming the rebels, in part out of fear it would create an even more bloody and prolonged conflict.
On Sunday, Red Cross teams handed out food, blankets and medical kits in central Homs province, but the government blocked access to the worst-hit district of Baba Amr.
The humanitarian group was trying to help families who fled Baba Amr and took shelter in nearby villages, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said in Geneva.
“The needs are so far mainly in the forms of food and also blankets because of the cold,” Hassan said.
Government forces have blocked humanitarian access to Baba Amr since Friday, the day after troops seized it from rebels. Opposition fighters had been in control of the neighborhood for several months.
Syrian troops managed to take control of Baba Amr after nearly a month of intense and relentless shelling, and activists say hundreds were killed in the daily bombardments
Activists have said residents face a humanitarian catastrophe in Baba Amr and other parts of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city with a population of 1 million. Electricity, water and communications have been cut off, and recent days have seen frigid temperatures and snowfall. Food was also running low.