Clinton says there could be civil war in Syria
"I think there could be a civil war with a very determined and well-armed and eventually well-financed opposition that is, if not directed by, certainly influenced by defectors from the army," Clinton told NBC news in an interview in Indonesia, where she was attending a regional summit.
"We're already seeing that, something that we hate to see because we are in favor of a peaceful protest and a nonviolent opposition," she said.
Clinton said, however, that she saw no prospect for the kind of coordinated international intervention that occurred in Libya, where a NATO-led coalition won a U.N. mandate to mount air strikes in support of rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi.
"There is no appetite for that kind of action vis-a-vis Syria," Clinton said, pointing to regional moves by the Arab League and Turkey as key to persuading Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to halt the violence against civilians.
The United States and the European Union have both imposed a series of targeted sanctions against Damascus. But U.N. sanctions are seen as unlikely given opposition from Russia and China, which last month vetoed a draft Security Council resolution condemning Syria.
The Arab League has suspended Syria and set a Saturday deadline for it to comply with the Arab peace plan, which entails a military pullout from around restive cities and towns, threatening sanctions unless Assad acts to halt the violence; Kazinform cites China Daily.
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