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    February 18, 2012

China Urges All Sides in Syria to End Violence

   VOA News
   Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun speaks to the media in Damascus,
   Syria, Februayr 18, 2012. Photo: AP
   Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun speaks to the media in Damascus,
   Syria, Februayr 18, 2012.

   China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun has called on all sides in Syria
   to end the violence and allow elections to proceed peacefully.
   Zhai - who spoke in the capital, Damascus, following a meeting with
   President Bashar al-Assad - says China calls on the government, the
   opposition and those with arms for an immediate stop to the violence.
   He says Beijing is hopeful that the upcoming referendum on a new
   constitution, as well as parliamentary elections, will take place
   calmly.
   China and Russia have both refused to condemn Syria over its crackdown
   on dissent, which has killed more than 6,000 people since last March.
   The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday passed a [1]resolution, approved
   by 137 of the assembly's 193 member states, calling on Mr. Assad's
   autocratic government to "immediately put an end to attacks against
   civilians."
   On Friday, Syrian activists said Syrian troops shelled four
   neighborhoods in the central city of Homs. The city has spearheaded the
   11-month uprising against President Assad. Activists also say
   demonstrations in defiance of Assad's government have sprung up in
   several cities throughout the country, including the capital, Damascus.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/ga11207.doc.htm
   2. http://middleeastvoices.com/
   3. http://twitter.com/VOAMiddleEast
   4. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667?%20%20%20%20v=wall

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