Syria opposition puts Assad on notice

Syria's opposition warned President Bashar al-Assad Wednesday he will be toppled unless he ushers in democratic changes, as his troops kept their grip on the flashpoint town of Daraa.

And in a new blow to the regime, 30 members of the ruling Baath party in the restive city of Banias announced their resignation in protest at the deadly crackdown on protesters, in a statement received by AFP.

The warning came as world pressure mounted on Damascus, with the European Union mulling sanctions and the UN human rights body calling for a special session in the wake of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Five EU countries are also summoning Syria's ambassadors over the violent crushing of dissent, France said, adding it was joined by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.

According to human rights activists, the military assault on Daraa, 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Damascus, has left more than 30 people dead since Monday, with at least 453 civilians killed across Syria since protests first erupted in mid-March.

As the assault on Daraa, an agricultural town near the Jordanian border, entered its third day, the newly formed National Initiative for Change (NIC) warned Assad to institute real democratic reforms or risk "violence, chaos and civil war."

"Either the ruling regime leads itself in a peaceful transition towards democracy ... or it will go through a process of popular protests that will evolve into a massive and grassroots revolution that will break down the regime and carry Syria through a period of transition after a wave of violence and instability," a NIC statement said.

"If the Syrian president does not wish to be recorded in history as a leader of this transition period, there is no alternative left for Syrians except to move forward along the same path as did the Tunisians, Egyptians and Libyans before them," added the NIC, an umbrella group of more than 150 opposition activists in Syria and abroad.

Popular uprisings since December in the Arab world have toppled veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and unleashed a fiery rebellion in Libya.

Syrian protesters took to the streets in even greater numbers after Assad scrapped nearly five decades of draconian emergency rule and abolished the repressive state security court a week ago.

Testing his promised reforms, they staged protests across the country on Friday, demanding the end to the Baath party's grip on political power, the release of political prisoners and the right to protest freely.

However, the security forces cleared demonstrations with tear gas and live rounds, with scores reported killed and hundreds arrested.

On Monday, some 3,000-5,000 troops backed by tanks and snipers swept into Daraa, the epicentre of the protests killing at least 25 people, according to rights activists. At least another six people died on Tuesday.

The army said troops entered Daraa "in response to calls for help" from citizens to rid them of "extremist terrorist groups" behind a spate of killings and sabotage.

Security forces also deployed in the northern Damascus suburb of Douma on Monday.

The deadly crackdown against six weeks of dissent prompted members of the Baath party in the northern coastal city of Banias to quit.

"The acts carried out by the security services against unarmed citizens in Banias and neighbouring towns, namely Baida, are against all human values and the slogans of the party," they said in a statement.

"The security services have destroyed the values we were raised on. We denounce and condemn everything that happened and announce, without any regrets, out withdrawal from the party," it added.

The violent crackdown also has outraged the international community.

EU spokesman Michael Mann said member countries will discuss imposing sanctions on Syria at a special meeting Friday.

"All options are on the table. If there's any need for any concrete actions to be taken, that can be done very quickly," Mann said on Wednesday.

Germany said it would strongly back EU sanctions against Syria, which could include restricting the travel of top Syrian officials and seizing their assets, as well as cutting off EU economic assistance.

The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold a special session on Syria on Friday after a request filed by Washington, and 10 European states, as well as Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Senegal and Zambia.

"The international community has been shocked by the killing of hundreds of civilians in connection with peaceful political protests in the past week," US ambassador Eileen Donahoe said.

Rights activists said that Friday's hearing in Geneva would deal a blow to Syria's plan to seek membership of the body for the term 2012 to 2014.

The Syrian Human Rights Organisation said a total of 453 civilians have been killed in Syria since the uprising erupted in mid-March.

Austria said steps were being taken to evacuate its nationals from Syria, while Syrian ally Turkey said it is sending envoys Thursday to Syria to press for reform.

"Of course the lifting of the state of emergency is a good start, but this is not enough... Syria must take many other steps," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Dozens of exiled Syrian dissidents also called Wednesday for immediate elections in Syria and an end to the bloody crackdown on protestors.

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