Opposition spurns referendum

A promise by the Syrian regime to hold a referendum in two weeks' time on a new constitution was rejected by the opposition and described by the United States as "laughable."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday ordered a referendum on a draft constitution allowing opposition political parties to run in elections, while troops pursued their crackdown on dissent.

"Licensed political parties and electoral rallies will take part in national political life and have to respect national sovereignty and democracy," read a statement posted online by the state-run news agency SANA. The vote is slated for February 26.

The proposition was dismissed out of hand by opponents of the government. "The opposition cannot accept a political solution like this while the regime continues to brutally kill our people," said Naji Tayyara of the Syrian National Council.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that all previous promises of reform by the Assad regime had been broken. "The Assad regime's days are numbered," said Carney.

Meanwhile, state security forces launched an offensive against the city of Hama and stormed a central district in Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees reported that telephone, Internet and cellular lines in Hama had been cut and that loud explosions could be heard in the city.

In the capital Damascus, security forces stormed the Barzeh neighborhood north of the city center. Residents said the government forces were looking for opposition activists and members of the rebel Free Syrian Army, according to the news agency Reuters. Shelling also continued in the flashpoint city of Homs for a 13th day, where an oil pipeline was reportedly attacked.

Human corridor plan

France on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to discuss establishing humanitarian corridors in Syria to deliver aid to civilians. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that the UN should consider establishing corridors to help Syrian civilians suffering from the violence.

"The idea of humanitarian corridors to allow NGOs to reach zones where there are absolutely scandalous massacres should be discussed at the Security Council," Juppe told France Info radio on Wednesday.

The French foreign minister said Paris was trying to negotiate a new Syria resolution with Moscow, which along with Beijing vetoed a Security Council resolution on February 4th that would have condemned the violence and called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Saudi Arabiaand Qatar have drafted a resolution that is to be voted on by the 193-member General Assembly on Thursday. Unlike Security Council resolutions, measures approved by the General Assembly are not legally binding and there are no vetoes, so this resolution is expected to pass.

slk/rc/pfd (AP, AFP, Reuters)