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Syria: "Foreign intervention" causes violent unrest

Arab World Materials 27 September 2011 00:40 (UTC +04:00)

"Foreign intervention" is the cause of the continued waves of violence in Syria, the country's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Monday, dpa reported.

"We deeply regret the surge in the activities of armed groups in Syria, which have not waned and instead continued to spiral," al-Moallem said in an address to the UN General Assembly.

"The presence of these groups, which of itself is the other aspect of the problem in Syria, is the manifestation of foreign intervention."

Washington and human rights groups have said that more than 2,000 civilian protesters have been killed since unrest erupted in Syria in March against President Bashar al-Assad. Damascus said hundreds of its security forces have been killed during demonstrations by armed groups.

Al-Moallem said Assad has declared reforms in response to popular demands. But he said Damascus has been under external pressures that at times were tantamount to "blatant conspiracies."

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