The former Vice President of Syria, Abdel Halim Khaddam, now a refugee in France, called on the international community to militarily intervene in Syria to stop the “massacres” committed by the “war machine” of President Bashar al-Assad. Khaddam (79 years old) stated in a press conference in Paris that “the Syrian people will not stand idly by in the face of violence; violence will drive them to take up arms in self-defense.” The former Syrian official, who defected from the regime in 2005 and has been living in France since then, added, “We do not call on anyone to take up arms (…) we are now calling for military intervention by the international community, similar to what happened in Libya.”
He considered that the events in the country have driven President Bashar al-Assad to “madness,” anticipating a fate similar to that of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed in captivity on October 20th last year.
Khaddam participated in Paris over the weekend in the founding meeting of the “National Authority for Supporting the Syrian Revolution,” which aims to work on unifying the “fragmented” Syrian opposition, according to its temporary executive head Talal Al-Qarqawi. The former Vice President urged Arab countries to “assume their responsibilities in helping their brothers in Syria.” He added, “It is now the responsibility of the United Nations and foreign governments to take serious actions to stop the Syrian war machine.”
Khaddam accused Russia and China, which used their veto power in the Security Council to prevent specific actions against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, of “succumbing to pressure from Iran,” where they have “important interests.” He said, “But now, with the regime faltering, I believe their stance will change.”
