BEIRUT — With deep divisions preventing forceful international action, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pressed security forces long loyal to Bashar Assad and his family to oust the Syrian president and end the bloodshed that is ripping his country apart.
A gathering of representatives of more than 60 countries held Friday in the Tunisian capital highlighted divisions at multiple levels: within the anti-Assad international coalition, the fractured Syrian opposition and the people of Syria, where Assad maintains considerable support among minorities fearful of a takeover by Islamists.
Clinton and other leaders of a coalition calling itself Friends of Syria demanded a halt to the violence, but ended up satisfying almost no one.
“This conference does not meet the aspirations of the Syrian people,” said Burhan Ghalioun, leader of the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group. Pro-Assad demonstrators rallied outside the venue.
The delegation from Saudi Arabia, frustrated by the failure to take more direct action, such as arming the Syrian rebels, withdrew from the conference.
Clinton, speaking to reporters, raised the prospect of a coup to remove Assad, who has withstood an almost yearlong rebellion.
“We also know from many sources that there are people around Assad who are beginning to hedge their bets … they didn’t sign up to slaughter people,” Clinton said.
Clinton cited the cases last year of Tunisia and Egypt, where militaries stepped in to remove longtime autocratic leaders after popular protests.
“We saw this happen in other settings last year,” Clinton said. “I think it is going to happen in Syria.”
The conference opted not to recognize any opposition group as the sole representative of the Syrian people, a blow for the Syrian National Council. Instead, the international coalition labeled the group “a legitimate representative of Syrians seeking peaceful democratic change,” but it withheld exclusive recognition of any one opposition faction.
Its failure to embrace arming the disparate rebel movement might reflect doubt in Washington and elsewhere about the makeup of the insurgent forces and their commitment to democracy.
The conference attendees did agree to tighten sanctions against the Assad government, which is grappling with an economic free fall because of the violence and previous sanctions, including a European oil embargo.
Neither Russia nor China wants to see a repeat of the Libya scenario in Syria. The two countries have twice vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions condemning Assad’s handling of the Syrian protests.
Neither Russia nor China attended the Tunis conference. Both have called for “dialogue” to resolve the Syrian crisis and are opposed to any international steps that could lead to foreign military intervention in Syria, where Russia has considerable business and strategic interests.
Clinton denounced the stance taken by Russia and China as “despicable.”
