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On April 12, Today's Zaman headlined, "Syrian troops fire on refugees fleeing Turkey," saying:
Hours before the ceasefire deadline, Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency said Syrian troops "reportedly" fired on civilians fleeing to Turkey. "(N)o casualties were reported." Regard the allegation skeptically.
Syrian forces engage armed insurgents. Noncombatant civilians aren't attacked. Why would they fire on men, women and children posing no threat? Reports said they tried to enter Southern Turkey through its Kilis Province Oncupinar border post.
If an attack occurred, blame insurgents, not Assad. Witnesses said they heard "heavy gunfire." It was dark. Attackers weren't visible. It suggests guerilla activity, not an army provoked incident.
Insurgents willfully target civilians. Assad's blamed. Perhaps again. It happens regularly. Expect further provocations. Fingers will point the wrong way. Violence will resume, then intervention. Expect war to follow.
On April 12, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Syria instituted positive steps toward ending violence. He wants international monitors sent soon as possible to supervise ceasefire conditions. He also urged all sides to engage diplomatically.
Expressing concern, he added:
"However, it is clear that some of our partners in the international arena have been saying different things to the opposition and pushing it towards intransigence.""The Syria leadership has the support of the majority of the Syrian people and to say that an opposition trend is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people is an exaggeration."
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