11 Nations Call for Hizbullah's 'Immediate' Pullout from Syria
World powers denounced on Thursday the "flagrant intervention" in Syria by Hizbullah and Iranian fighters, urging their immediate withdrawal from the war-torn country.
In a joint statement, the Friends of Syria group "called for the immediate withdrawal of Hizbullah, fighters from Iran, and other regime allied foreign fighters from Syrian territory."
It described their armed presence in the country as a threat to regional stability.
The group held talks in Amman to try to agree the contours of a peace conference to end the war.
A key battle has been waged since Sunday over control of the town of al-Qusayr, which had been in rebel hands for more than a year.
Qusayr is located along a land corridor that links two Assad strongholds, the capital Damascus and the heartland of President Bashar Assad's Alawite sect along the Mediterranean coast.
Syrian troops backed by fighters from Hizbullah have pushed into the town since the start of the offensive. Underlining its importance, Syria's main opposition alliance, the Syrian National Coalition, on Wednesday urged rebel fighters from across Syria to converge on Qusayr to help defend it.
Opposition fighters were holding out Wednesday, but appeared to be under increasing strain as government tanks and artillery pounded the town and warplanes bombed it from the sky.
The meeting of 11 Western and Arab foreign ministers, as well as Turkey, in Amman urged Assad to commit to peace, but warned that if he fails to negotiate a political transition they would boost their backing of the opposition.
The joint statement warned of "severe consequences" if use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces is confirmed.
It also accused government troops of committing “ethnic cleansing" this month in the city of Banias.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press, Naharnet
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