Syria: Russia says conflict 'is similar to civil war'

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

November 17 2011 Last updated at 10:04 GMT

Russia's Foreign Minister has said the situation in Syria is beginning to resemble civil war after defected soldiers attacked a key army base.

Sergei Lavrov said the Arab League must call on all sides to end the violence.

=snip=

Mr Lavrov told Russian media: "We see television reports that say some new force, the so-called Free Syrian Army I believe, organised an attack on a government building."

"This is already completely similar to real civil war," he said.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15769804

---

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15563900">Q&A: The Free Syrian Army
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15155804">Q&A: Syrian opposition alliance
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15753975">Q&A: Syria sanctions

[al bupp]

1. Mr. Lavrov has a point

I would say that if military factions are battling each other, then that's pretty much a definition of extreme civil strife, at the very least. At what point it becomes full-fledged civil war, well that's a tougher call. The situation certainly seems to be verging in that direction,though I have heard Syrian dissidents interviewed on the BBC claiming to not be convinced that's come time to resort to violence. I imagine it would be easy in such an apparently chaotic situation for an armed group to act independently w/o waiting for some say-so from the political wing.