Deaths force Syrian MP to join Bashar al-Assad opponents

A MEMBER of Syria’s parliament has left the country to join the opposition against president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, saying the Syrian people are suffering human rights violations.

Imad Ghalioun, who represents the central city of Homs, told Al-Arabiya TV that the city, which has been one of the most restive in the uprising against Assad’s rule since March, is a disaster after months of being a focus of the regime’s fierce crackdown.

“The Syrian people are living their worst period,” Mr Ghalioun said late on Sunday from Egypt.

“The people of Homs are under siege and the city is disaster-stricken,” he said. “There is no electricity, piles of rubbish fill the streets. The sounds of shelling all night terrify children.”

He added that there are many MPs who support the uprising but have not said so publicly.

Thousands of people have been killed in the crackdown, which has turned increasingly militarised in recent months with a growing risk of civil war.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated a call yesterday for Assad to “stop killing, and listen to his people”.

During a visit to Abu Dhabi, he said: “I hope the UN Security Council handles Syria in a coherent manner and with a sense of gravity,” but did not recommend any specific action. “The casualties have reached such an unacceptable stage we cannot let the situation continue this way.”

The head of the Arab League monitoring mission to Syria is due to report to an Arab League committee on Thursday before Arab foreign ministers gather to consider their next step on Syria.

Qatar, which heads the committee, has suggested Arab troops step in, an idea that is anathema to Damascus and which Arab nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Algeria are likely to oppose.