THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Opposition groups and activists on Sunday accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of 'scare mongering' to dissuade Western action against the regime.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Telegraph, President Assad had warned that foreign intervention in his country would cause an "earthquake" that would "burn the whole region".
"He is trying to make the uprising seem threatening to the West and the Middle East," said Walat Afimeh, a member of the Sawa (Together) Youth opposition movement.
"After eight months of uprisings, why do you think this will suddenly descend to civil and then regional war?" said Nasser Ahme, a Kurdish activist member of Sawa Youth speaking from a hiding place in Turkey.
Activists renewed the call for a Nato imposed 'no fly zone', and the equipping of the 'Syrian Free Army' (SFA) – an opposition military group composed of defecting soldiers.
Syria's social patchwork of ethnic diversities makes the country sensitive to civil war acquiesced activists. But intervention will only help prevent civil war. » | Ruth Sherlock in Antakya, Turkey | Sunday, October 30, 2011
