Syria calls for end of `occupation' of Iraq, extends support to Iraqis

Syria calls for end of `occupation' of Iraq, extends support to Iraqis

Inal Ersan, Reuters, Damascus

Syria called on Thursday for an end to the "occupation" of
neighboring Iraq, and maintained silence in the face of U.S.
accusations that it is helping supporters of President Saddam
Hussein to flee.

Syria "urges the international community to exert every
possible effort to put an end to the occupation and manage the
catastrophic situation that has resulted from the aggression,"
the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

This was necessary, it said, "so that the people of Iraq can
choose their government freely away from foreign intervention".

"In view of the dangerous circumstances facing the Arab
nation, the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its full commitment
to the unity of Iraq -- land and people," the statement said.

There was no direct response to remarks by U.S. Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday that he had "scraps of
intelligence saying that Syria has been cooperative in
facilitating the move of the people out of Iraq and into Syria".

"We are getting scraps of intelligence saying that Syria has
been cooperative in facilitating the move of the people out of
Iraq and into Syria," Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference as
triumphant American military forces were greeted by jubilant
Iraqis in Baghdad.

"Then, in some cases they (Saddam supporters) stay there and
find safekeeping there. In other cases, they move from Syria to
some other places," Rumsfeld said when asked by reporters where
supporters of Saddam had gone from Baghdad and elsewhere.

He later told reporters after a Congressional appearance that
those fleeing into Syria might include "some family members" of
Saddam. He gave no further details.

The secretary also repeated earlier U.S. charges that Syria
had facilitated the movement of military equipment and people
into Iraq to help fight U.S.-led forces that launched an invasion
to overthrow Saddam nearly three weeks ago.

Syrian government officials were not available for comment.
Imad Shuaibi, an analyst close to Damascus thinking, played down
the significance of the U.S. comments, however.

"Syria is not worried. There is no chance that these
allegations will turn into threats," he said. "I see no threat in
this statement, it is even milder than previous ones."

Syria dismissed earlier accusations by Rumsfeld that military
equipment was being transported through its territory to Iraq.

Rumsfeld then described the perceived Syrian support for
Saddam's rule as a "hostile act".

Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara discussed developments in
Iraq and the region by telephone with his Egyptian and Saudi
counterparts and with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa,
said the official Syrian news agency without giving details.

The state-controlled Syrian media has ignored the collapse of
Saddam's rule and focused instead on the chaos and hardship
endured by Iraqis since U.S.-led forces invaded three weeks ago.

State-run radio, a government mouthpiece, distanced Damascus
from Saddam on Thursday. "Syria was not, at any time, backing
anyone but the Iraqi people," it said.

Syria has been a stern opponent of the U.S.-led war against
its neighbor and former rival Iraq. It has often warned that the
war would be catastrophic for the region.

Ties between Damascus and Washington have been strained by
U.S. support for Israel and Syria's backing of Lebanese guerrilla
group Hizbollah and radical Palestinian groups, considered by
Washington to be terrorist.