UN, German minister meet for Syria talks

14 Oct 2012, 10:05 am   -   Source: AAP
Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (R) has arrived in Istanbul for talks on the Syrian conflict. (AAP)

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (R) has arrived in Istanbul for talks on the Syrian conflict. (AAP)

Fighting in Syria has raged on, as international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Istanbul for talks on the crisis.

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle have met in Istanbul for talks on the Syrian conflict, as rebels on the ground said a Syrian regime warplane was shot down near the embattled city of Aleppo.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for reform of the UN Security Council to help resolve the crisis, after Russia and China have repeatedly used their veto powers to block resolutions condemning Syria.

Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also held talks on Syria with visiting Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, Turkish news agency Anatolia said.

With rebels controlling large swathes of the border area, a series of incidents of cross-border fire this month sparked retaliatory shelling by NATO member Turkey and raised international concern about escalation.

Westerwelle, whose visit to Turkey was hastily scheduled, called for calm and restraint ahead of his meetings.

"It is important that no one pours oil on the fire," he said.

Syria said it was ready to establish a joint committee to oversee security on the border, as Turkey stepped up warnings of reprisals for further shelling, such as that which killed five Turks on October 3.

The Syrian foreign ministry said it has been discussing with Russian diplomats the idea of a joint committee to avoid border misunderstandings.

Russia, a traditional ally of Syria, backed a UN Security Council statement condemning the cross-border shelling but has angered the West by repeatedly blocking tougher UN action against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat who is envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, arrived in Istanbul from talks in Saudi Arabia.

The Damascus regime accuses Riyadh and Ankara of arming rebels seeking to overthrow it.

Brahimi is due in Tehran on Sunday for talks with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian state television channel's website reported, a day before heading for Baghdad to meet Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The envoy is on a regional tour aimed at finding a solution to the conflict in Syria after Damascus rejected a UN call to implement a unilateral ceasefire.

On the ground, rebels on Saturday blocked army reinforcements from advancing towards the town of Maaret al-Numan, which has been under rebel control for several days, an AFP journalist in the area said.

In its bid to retake the town, strategically located in the northwest on the road from Damascus to the embattled city of Aleppo, warplanes bombarded it, killing two civilians and destroying three homes.

And rebels shot down a warplane some 10 kilometres west of Aleppo where fierce battles were taking place, the Observatory and a defected army officer said.

The army and rebels were also locked in fierce battles in the central city of Homs, where regime forces are trying to wipe out remaining pockets of resistance, the Observatory and state news agency SANA said.

The Observatory said at least 87 people were killed on Saturday - 33 soldiers, 30 rebels and 24 civilians.

More than 33,000 people have now been killed since the uprising against Assad's rule erupted in March last year.

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