Hundreds of demonstrators attempted to enter the conference on Syria taking place in Tunis. The conference is designed to set the stage for the overthrow of the Assad government., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Pro-Syrian Crowd Tries to Storm Tunisia Meeting
By MATTHEW LEE
TUNIS, Tunisia go.com
About 200 pro-Syrian demonstrators tried to storm the hotel where a conference is being held by Arab and Western officials over the crisis in Syria.
The protest forced U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Rodham Clinton to be diverted to her hotel, delaying her appearance at the "Friends of Syria" conference.
The protesters, waving Syrian and Tunisian flags, tussled with police and carried signs criticizing Clinton and President Barack Obama.
Police wielding truncheons stopped them from entering the venue and drove them out of the parking lot after about 15 minutes.
The U.S. and European and Arab allies are expected to back a proposal for Syria's president to step aside and allow in humanitarian assistance to end a brutal crackdown against opponents.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A senior diplomat attending the Friends of Syria meeting says the group will call for the United Nations to begin planning a Syria peacekeeping mission.
The diplomat said Friday the group would endorse preparations for the U.N. to send civilian police to Syria once hostilities are over. The diplomat said the envisioned operation would occur in a permissive environment and would not be a military intervention.
The diplomat, who spoke due to the sensitivity of ongoing diplomacy, said the move was part of a campaign to show that the collapse of President Bashar Assad's regime is inevitable.
It's also a signal to Russia and China, which have blocked U.N. Security Council action on Syria twice.
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