You're reading: Russia says Assad ‘not bluffing’ about staying put

Also, the World Food Program said it aims to feed 2.5 million Syrians by next month, up from 1.7 million now. Need has risen sharply as growing numbers of Syrians are displaced by civil war and the country's economy is disintegrating.

The
uprising against Assad erupted two years ago, with primarily peaceful
protests deteriorating into a brutal civil war, initially in response to
a harsh regime crackdown on dissent. More than 70,000 people have been
killed, according to U.N. estimates.

The conflict has been
deadlocked, with neither side able to get the upper hand, although the
rebels have scored a series of strategic victories in recent weeks,
seizing a provincial capital in the northeast, capturing the country’s
largest dam and overrunning a number of smaller military bases.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the BBC in an interview broadcast Friday that the Syrian leader is digging in.

Assad
“is not going to leave,” Lavrov said. “We know this for sure, and all
those who get in touch with him know that he is not bluffing.”

Lavrov said Russia, a close Syria ally, will not pressure Assad to leave.

“It’s not for me to decide, it’s not for anybody else to decide, except the Syrian people,” Lavrov said.

Syria’s
opposition has criticized the West for not helping arm rebel fighters
at a time when Russia and Iran are supporting the regime with weapons.

Earlier
this week, Britain announced it would provide armored vehicles and
other equipment to the rebels, while stopping short of arming them. The
West has balked at sending arms, fearing the weapons could fall into the
hands of Islamic extremists fighting in the rebel ranks.

In
India, Assad adviser Buthaina Shaaban said Britain’s decision will only
prolong the fighting. She alleged that most of the rebels are linked to
the al-Qaida terror network and conservative Islamic groups.

“Britain
should not think that terror activities by such groups in Syria, will
not one day go back to haunt Europe or Britain,” said Shaaban who is in
India for talks with Indian leaders to rally support for Assad.

Meanwhile,
the Philippine government is trying to win the release of 21 U.N.
peacekeepers, all Filipinos, who were seized by Syrian rebels on
Wednesday.

Government officials initially said they expected the
U.N. troops to be freed Friday, but said rebels stuck to demands that
regime forces first withdraw from the area where the hostages are being
held.

The peacekeepers were taken near the Syrian village of
Jamlah, a kilometer (less than a mile) from the Israeli-controlled Golan
Heights, where a U.N. force has patrolled a cease-fire line between
Israel and Syria for nearly four decades.

Last week, rebels from
the Martyrs of the Yarmouk Brigades, the group holding the peacekeepers,
overran several Syrian army checkpoints in the area, said Rami
Abdul-Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights.

On Friday, rebels attacked regime forces in the village of
Abdeen south of Jamlah, setting off heavy clashes, the Observatory
said. Regime helicopters bombed the area, the group said.

Rebels
apparently fear that the regime will retake the area if the peacekeepers
are released, raising the possibility of a prolonged standoff.

Philippine
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said President Benigno Aquino III has
ordered a review of the country’s peacekeeping missions.

A
contingent of more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers is part of the U.N.
force, known as UNDOF. Filipino peacekeepers also serve in Haiti and
Liberia.

The kidnapping has underlined potential complications
from the Syria conflict. Israel is concerned about the Syria fighting
spilling across the frontier.

Since the conflict began, nearly 4
million of Syria’s 22 million people have been driven from their homes
by the fighting, according to U.N. estimates. This includes refugees in
neighboring countries and some 2 million who have sought shelter inside
Syria.

In one recent wave, more than 20,000 families fled fighting
in the northeastern Raqqa province, seeking refuge in the neighboring
district of Deir el-Zour, according to the World Food Program.

The
U.N. agency said that in recent days it distributed food to some 20,000
people in public shelters in Deir el-Zour. More food trucks are to
deliver food there Friday.

Earlier this week, Syrian rebels
completed their capture of the provincial capital of Raqqa after several
days of fighting. The takeover marked the first time rebels seized a
major Syrian city. Raqqa has a population of about 500,000.

In
addition to the internally displaced, Syrians who remain in their homes
are also in increasing need of food aid, the agency said. The Syrian
economy has been hit hard by the 2-year-old conflict, and basics such as
food and fuel are becoming scarce in many areas.

“The needs are
huge and are growing,” said Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the WFP.
“It’s kind of a vicious cycle, the collapse of the economy, and more and
more people are displaced.”

She said the U.N. agency distributed
food to 1.7 million Syrians in February, with the help of local
partners. The agency plans to reach 2 million in March and 2.5 million
in April, she said.