As street fighting raged near the Syrian capital, a diplomatic battle loomed in the United Nations where the Arab League, backed by the West, wants the Security Council to act on an Arab peace plan that would call for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power.
The fighting on Monday subsided by nightfall as members of the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army (FSA) pulled out to the edges of the capital’s suburbs, activists said by telephone, adding they believed 19 civilians and six FSA members had been killed.
Nabil Elaraby, the secretary-general of the Arab League, and Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, meanwhile held talks with diplomats ahead of Tuesday’s Security Council meeting on Syria.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has said that she would travel to the UN for the meeting to “send a clear message of support to the Syrian people: we stand with you”.
France, the UK, and Portugal are sending their foreign ministers to take part in the meeting.
A vote on the resolution drafted by Europeans and Arabs could come before the end of the week, diplomats say.
Earlier, Russia, a veto-wielding Security Council member and one of Syria’s few allies, said
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