US' Dempsey says intervention would be very difficult

The United States, Europe, Turkey and Gulf-led Arab states have all demanded Assad quit power.

The West has ruled out any Libya-style military intervention but the Arab League, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, has indicated some of its member states were prepared to arm the opposition, which includes the rebel Free Syrian Army.

British Foreign Minister William Hague reiterated that view on Sunday, telling the BBC: "We cannot intervene in the way we did in Libya. ... We will do many other things."

"I am worried that Syria is going to slide into a civil war and that our powers to do something about it are very constrained because, as everyone has seen, we have not been able to pass a resolution at the UN Security Council because of Russian and Chinese opposition."

In Washington the top US military officer, General Martin Dempsey, said intervening in Syria would be "very difficult" because it was not another Libya.

"It would be a big mistake to think of this as another Libya," Dempsey, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

Syria's army is "very capable," with a sophisticated, integrated air defense system and chemical and biological weapons, Dempsey said.

He also thought it was premature to arm the opposition movement in Syria, because "I would challenge anyone to clearly identify for me the opposition movement in Syria at this point."

CATCH-22

Leading Syrian businessman, Faisal al-Qudsi, said the government was slowly disintegrating and sanctions were ruining Syria's economy.

He told the BBC in London military action could only last six months but Assad's government would fight to the end.

"The army is getting tired and will go nowhere," he said.

"They will have to sit and talk or at least they have to stop killing. And the minute they stop killing, more millions of people will be on the streets. So they are in a Catch-22."

Qudsi, who was involved in Syria's economic liberalization, told the BBC the apparatus of government was almost non-existent in trouble spots like Homs, Idlib and Deraa.

The opposition Local Coordination Committees said security forces killed 14 people in Damascus and other parts of the country on Saturday, including five in the opposition stronghold of Homs. None of the figures could be verified independently.

Government forces bombarded Homs again on Sunday. The western city, strategically sited on the road between Damascus and commercial hub Aleppo, has been under siege for more than two weeks and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding as food and medical supplies to treat the wounded are running short.

Rockets, artillery and sniper fire have killed several hundred people, according to activists' reports, but security forces have held back from a full invasion of opposition held districts. Residents fear a bloodbath should that take place.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attorney general for Idlib province, Nidal Gazal, a judge and their driver were all killed on Sunday morning when unidentified gunmen shot at their car.

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