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Syrian Judge Killed in Renewed Fighting in the Capital Turkey May Deploy Patriot Missiles Near Syria
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian insurgents escalated attacks on targets within earshot of President Bashar al-Assad’s hilltop Damascus palace on Wednesday, blowing up a judge in his car and lobbing mortar shells at a neighborhood that houses central government offices and a military airfield. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Turkish officials said Wednesday that they were considering the deployment of Patriot missile batteries along the Turkey-Syria border, a move that could effectively provide protection for Syrian rebels by creating a no-fly zone over northern Syria.
The assassination of the judge, reported by the official news agency, SANA, was the second high-profile killing of a top Assad loyalist in the Syrian capital in two days and added to the impression that the Syrian insurgency had intensified in the face of sputtering international diplomacy aimed at resolving the 20-month-old conflict. The development, coming only hours after President Obama had won re-election, raised speculation that the United States and its allies were working on a more robust plan to deal with the 20-month-old conflict in Syria during the second Obama administration term. Further reinforcing that speculation, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said he was prepared to open direct lines of communication with Syrian rebel commanders.
The latest mayhem coincided with news reports that Turkey, one of Mr. Assad’s most strident critics, was considering the deployment of Patriot missiles along its border with Syria to protect insurgent safe zones there from Syrian aerial assaults. If carried out, deployment of the missiles — which could easily shoot down Syrian helicopters, warplanes or missiles that veer close to the border — would represent an escalation of military tensions between the neighbors. Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, was quoted by Turkish news media as saying Turkey, as a NATO member, may seek Patriot missiles to install along its southern border with Syria, which could protect Syrian insurgent safe zones. But the missiles, which have a range of at least 40 miles, could also create the basis for a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, giving an important protection to the rebels who are fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad from power.
SANA said the judge who had been targeted, Abad Nadhwah, died instantly when a remotely detonated bomb exploded under his car. On Tuesday, SANA said gunmen assassinated Mohammad Osama al-Laham, a prominent agricultural expert and brother of the Syrian Parliament speaker, in a central Damascus neighborhood while he was driving to work. The news agency attributed both assassinations to terrorists, the government’s catchall term for Mr. Assad’s opponents. Mr. Cameron of Britain, on a visit to Jordan, said his country, along with other allies opposed to Mr. Assad, should do more to help the opposition, including the establishment of direct contacts with rebel forces inside Syria. Mr. Cameron was quoted by news agencies as saying the allies should “help them achieve their goal, which is our goal of a Syria without Assad.”
He spoke as Syrian insurgents escalated attacks on targets within earshot of PresidentAssad’s hilltop Damascus palace, blowing up a judge in his car and lobbing mortar shells at a neighborhood that houses central government offices and a military airfield.
The assassination of the judge, reported by the official news agency, SANA, was the second high-profile killing of a top Assad loyalist in the Syrian capital in two days and added to the impression that the Syrian insurgency had intensified in the face of sputtering international diplomacy aimed at resolving the conflict.
SANA said the judge, Abad Nadhwah, died instantly when a remotely detonated bomb exploded under his car. On Tuesday, SANA said gunmen assassinated Mohammad Osama al-Laham, a prominent agricultural expert and brother of the Syrian Parliament speaker, in a central Damascus neighborhood while he was driving to work. The news agency attributed both assassinations to terrorists, the government’s catchall term for Mr. Assad’s opponents.
Activist groups said the judge’s assassination was part of a particularly violent day in the capital, during which at least four mortar attacks shook the Mezze 86 neighborhood, a hilltop enclave populated by Mr. Assad’s minority Alawite sect near the presidential palace.Activist groups said the judge’s assassination was part of a particularly violent day in the capital, during which at least four mortar attacks shook the Mezze 86 neighborhood, a hilltop enclave populated by Mr. Assad’s minority Alawite sect near the presidential palace.
Activists said the attackers had been aiming for the palace but the mortar shells hit the administrative offices of the prime minister and a military airfield. It was unclear whether there were casualties. Still, the ability of rebels to strike so close to Mr. Assad’s center of power, despite his repeated efforts to rout them, appeared to reflect the tenacity of the insurgency, which began in March 2011 as a peaceful pro-democracy uprising.Activists said the attackers had been aiming for the palace but the mortar shells hit the administrative offices of the prime minister and a military airfield. It was unclear whether there were casualties. Still, the ability of rebels to strike so close to Mr. Assad’s center of power, despite his repeated efforts to rout them, appeared to reflect the tenacity of the insurgency, which began in March 2011 as a peaceful pro-democracy uprising.
The Houran Freemen Brigade, a unit of the Free Syrian Army, the main armed insurgent group in Syria, took responsibility for the mortar attacks on Mezze 86.The Houran Freemen Brigade, a unit of the Free Syrian Army, the main armed insurgent group in Syria, took responsibility for the mortar attacks on Mezze 86.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group based in Britain with contacts inside Syria, reported on Wednesday that three civilians had been killed and more than two dozen wounded by shelling in the Hajar al-Aswad district in the Damascus suburbs, where clashes have been raging between rebel fighters and government forces helped by fighters from pro-government Palestinian groups. Two rebel fighters were also killed, the observatory said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group based in Britain with contacts inside Syria, reported on Wednesday that three civilians had been killed and more than two dozen wounded by shelling in the Hajar al-Aswad district in the Damascus suburbs, where clashes have been raging between rebel fighters and government forces helped by fighters from pro-government Palestinian groups. Two rebel fighters were also killed, the observatory said.
The latest fighting to convulse Damascus came a day after a top United Nations official, Jeffrey D. Feltman, warned the Security Council in a briefing that the situation inside Syria was “turning grimmer every day, and the risk is growing that this crisis could explode outward into an already volatile region.”The latest fighting to convulse Damascus came a day after a top United Nations official, Jeffrey D. Feltman, warned the Security Council in a briefing that the situation inside Syria was “turning grimmer every day, and the risk is growing that this crisis could explode outward into an already volatile region.”
Underscoring that threat, over the weekend, Israel accused Syria of moving tanks into a demilitarized zone of the disputed Golan Heights region captured by the Israelis in the 1967 war, an area that had remained relatively quiet since the Syrian uprising began. On Monday, Israel asked Security Council members to address what it called “this alarming development.”Underscoring that threat, over the weekend, Israel accused Syria of moving tanks into a demilitarized zone of the disputed Golan Heights region captured by the Israelis in the 1967 war, an area that had remained relatively quiet since the Syrian uprising began. On Monday, Israel asked Security Council members to address what it called “this alarming development.”
Mr. Feltman, the under secretary general for political affairs, told reporters at the United Nations that he was concerned about the new Golan tension and called it “another example of spillover from areas that had been previously immune from fighting.”Mr. Feltman, the under secretary general for political affairs, told reporters at the United Nations that he was concerned about the new Golan tension and called it “another example of spillover from areas that had been previously immune from fighting.”
Mr. Feltman also expressed hope that “the Security Council can come together and act in a unified fashion on Syria, as this would be critical to any peace effort.”Mr. Feltman also expressed hope that “the Security Council can come together and act in a unified fashion on Syria, as this would be critical to any peace effort.”
There was no sign of that.There was no sign of that.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, held talks on Tuesday in Jordan with the highest-ranking defector from the Syrian government, former Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab, who attacked Moscow’s enduring support for Mr. Assad as unworkable for a political transition.The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, held talks on Tuesday in Jordan with the highest-ranking defector from the Syrian government, former Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab, who attacked Moscow’s enduring support for Mr. Assad as unworkable for a political transition.
Remarks by David Cameron, the British prime minister, that Mr. Assad might be granted safe passage out of his country as a means to end the fighting also caused a stir, with his office quickly stressing that he did not mean that Mr. Assad should not be prosecuted. Mr. Assad, whose family has dominated Syrian politics for four decades, has shown no intention of resigning or seeking to leave Syria. Remarks on Tuesday by Mr. Cameron, the British prime minister, that Mr. Assad might be granted safe passage out of his country as a means to end the fighting also caused a stir, with his office quickly stressing that he did not mean that Mr. Assad should not be prosecuted. Mr. Assad, whose family has dominated Syrian politics for four decades, has shown no intention of resigning or seeking to leave Syria.
Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy to the conflict representing both the United Nations and the Arab League, warned that unless there was a greater international effort, Syria risked becoming another Somalia — which, as a failed state, became a font of international piracy and other terrorist problems for 20 years. In an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat, Mr. Brahimi said the main effort should be a binding Security Council resolution on a political transition.Lakhdar Brahimi, the international envoy to the conflict representing both the United Nations and the Arab League, warned that unless there was a greater international effort, Syria risked becoming another Somalia — which, as a failed state, became a font of international piracy and other terrorist problems for 20 years. In an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat, Mr. Brahimi said the main effort should be a binding Security Council resolution on a political transition.
The lack of a cohesive Syrian opposition has been partly blamed for preventing a more robust international effort on Syria. Efforts to create a more unified coalition of anti-Assad groups sputtered along this week in Doha, Qatar, where a meeting was scheduled for Thursday to try to implement an American-backed plan to broaden the opposition to include more factions, including more representatives of the military units doing the fighting.The lack of a cohesive Syrian opposition has been partly blamed for preventing a more robust international effort on Syria. Efforts to create a more unified coalition of anti-Assad groups sputtered along this week in Doha, Qatar, where a meeting was scheduled for Thursday to try to implement an American-backed plan to broaden the opposition to include more factions, including more representatives of the military units doing the fighting.

Neil MacFarquhar reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Hania Mourtada from Beirut, Richard Berry from Paris and Hwaida Saad from Antakya, Turkey.

Neil MacFarquhar reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Hania Mourtada from Beirut, Richard Berry from Paris, Tim Arango from Antakya, Turkey and Sebnem Arsu from Istanbul.