Assad Meets Turkish FM as Army Withdraws from Hama

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Batoul Wehbe

Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Tuesday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, as Syrian army units began to withdraw from Hama. Davutoglu was to deliver a "strong message" to the president during his visit to the Syrian capital, Turkey said ahead of Tuesday's visit. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner lauded the visit and said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had spoken to Davutoglu. The Syrian President sacked on Monday the Minister of Defense for “health” reasons as reported by the Syrian news agency SANA. General Daoud Rajiha was appointed Minister of Defense, replacing Ali Habib Mahmoud, who was on the European Union's travel ban and asset freeze list for Syrian officials. Rajiha, a Greek Orthodox Christian, was the army's chief of staff. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED SANA quoted an official military source stated on Monday that army units tasked with restoring security and stability to the city of Hama began leaving it after completing their mission. The military source added that normal life began to return gradually to the city. A security source in Hama stated that army units confiscated firearms and ammunition from the armed criminal groups and that a number of its members were arrested along with people who instigated vandalism Both Kuwait and Bahrain summoned their ambassadors to Syria for "consultation" on Monday, 24 hours after Saudi Arabia recalled its envoy from Damascus. Also, Al-Azhar, called for an end to the "tragedy" in Syria, saying the situation had "exceeded all limits." US HAILS ARAB STANCE   The US on Monday hailed the Arab world's reaction to the unrest in Syria. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his regular news briefing in Washington that the US was greatly "encouraged and heartened" by the decisive stand taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League on the Syrian stand-off. Toner attributed the strong posturing on the part of Arab nations to efforts undertaken by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to drum up support for raising international pressure against the Bashar al-Assad regime. According to Toner, US envoy to Syria, Robert Ford will indeed remain in Damascus despite the political turmoil as the Barack Obama administration believes he is performing "an important role, bearing witness to what's going on in Syria."

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