Assad: Western action in Syria will 'burn the whole region'

2011-10-30 06:09:27 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday warned that Western intervention in his country will cause an 'earthquake' which will 'burn the whole region.' Assad made the comment during an interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left more than 3,000 people killed. The Syrian government has claimed violent acts against protesters have been carried out by 'protesters dressed as soldiers,' although international observers have rejected these claims.

Amid increasing calls for the international community to establish a no-fly zone over Syria, Assad warned that any intervention against his regime could cause "another Afghanistan," where U.S.-led forces have been fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups for more than a decade.

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake," Assad told The Sunday Telegraph. "Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistan's?"

He added: "Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region."

Assad recognized that Western countries will continue to increase the pressure on the Syrian regime, but said the situation in the country is different from Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen where protesters also took to the streets and were met with deadly attacks from security forces. "The history is different. The politics is different," he said.

Assad said he has responded differently to the so-called Arab Spring than leaders in other countries where protesters succeeded to overthrow the government. "We didn't go down the road of stubborn government. Six days after [the protests began] I commenced reform. People were skeptical that the reforms were an opiate for the people, but when we started announcing the reforms, the problems started decreasing," he said. "This is when the tide started to turn. This is when people started supporting the government."

Assad admitted that "many mistakes" had been made by his security forces during the early part of the uprising, but said only 'terrorists' are now being targeted. "We have very few police, only the army, who are trained to take on al-Qaeda. If [britain] sent in [its] army to the streets, the same thing would happen. Now, we are only fighting terrorists. That's why the fighting is becoming much less."

Despite Assad's claims, Syrian opposition activists said dozens of people were killed on Friday when government security forces opened fire on protesters who called for a no-fly zone over the country.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-30

Assad clearly won't take a stick up the ass lying down - but I think it's only a matter of time before he gets one.

Isn't that pretty much what Gaddafi said a few months ago