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Envoy to Syria Meets With President Assad As Special Envoy Meets Syria’s Assad, Russia Signals New Pessimism
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Monday and said he had presented “steps” to de-escalate the war, which he described as “still a reason for worry.” BEIRUT, Lebanon — The special international envoy seeking an end to the Syria crisis met in Damascus with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Monday, as new signs emerged that Russia, Mr. Assad’s most important foreign backer, was accelerating efforts to evacuate Russian diplomats and other expatriates from the country.
“We hope that all sides will work toward a solution, as the Syrian people want,” Mr. Brahimi said afterward in brief comments to reporters, according to the Reuters news agency. The envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, the Algerian statesman who has been the special Syria representative for the United Nations and Arab League for the past three months, did not specify the substance or tone of his discussion with Mr. Assad, describing it only in general terms in brief remarks afterward. But the meeting, which had not been announced in advance, came amid signals that Mr. Assad’s grip on the country is weakening as the armed rebellion against him spreads.
Mr. Brahimi did not give any details of a specific proposal, but a member of Syria’s political opposition who said he had spoken with Mr. Brahimi’s aides said he was advocating a plan for a negotiated solution first proposed in June. The opposition member, Mohamed Sarmini, said the proposal would temporarily leave Mr. Assad in power while curbing his authority and creating a transitional government — an arrangement that the opposition has so far been unwilling to accept. “The president expressed his view regarding the current situation and I briefed him on the meetings I had in several capitals with officials from different countries inside and outside the region,” Mr. Brahimi told reporters, according to an account posted on the United Nations’s Web site. “I also told him about the steps that in my view need to be taken to help the Syrian people find a way out of this crisis.”
“It does not meet the demands of the revolution,” Mr. Sarmini said. A member of Syria’s political opposition who said he had spoken with Mr. Brahimi’s aides said the envoy had advocated a plan for a negotiated solution first proposed in June. The opposition member, Mohamed Sarmini, said the proposal would temporarily leave Mr. Assad in power while curbing his authority and creating a transitional government — an arrangement that the opposition had previously rejected as inadequate. “It does not meet the demands of the revolution,” Mr. Sarmini said.
After the meeting, the official Syrian state news agency said Mr. Assad “stressed the Syrian government’s keenness” to pursue efforts that “preserve the sovereignty and independence of the homeland.” The official Syrian state news agency, SANA, said in its account of the meeting that Mr. Assad had “stressed the Syrian government’s keenness” to pursue efforts that “preserve the sovereignty and independence of the homeland.”
Mr. Brahimi arrived in Damascus on Sunday as residents of the town of Halfaya, in west-central Syria, reported that dozens of people had been killed when a Syrian warplane dropped bombs on a bakery. Mr. Brahimi arrived in Damascus on Sunday as new mayhem gripped the country. His entourage was forced to drive in from Lebanon instead of flying because of insurgent threats to attack commercial traffic at the Damascus airport.
Some of the worst violence appeared to be in the town of Halfaya, in west-central Syria, where activists reported that dozens of people had been killed when a Syrian warplane dropped bombs on a bakery.
The attack, and the number of casualties, could not be immediately confirmed. A local activist said he ran to the bakery soon after he heard a warplane followed by explosions and the sound of ambulances. “There were bodies everywhere,” said the activist, who gave his name as Samer.The attack, and the number of casualties, could not be immediately confirmed. A local activist said he ran to the bakery soon after he heard a warplane followed by explosions and the sound of ambulances. “There were bodies everywhere,” said the activist, who gave his name as Samer.
Photographs he took after the attack showed bodies in a heap on a bloody sidewalk outside a low-slung building, which was damaged but still standing. Amateur video of what the activists said was the aftermath of the attack showed a man sitting near a motorcycle, his arm twisted around his back, struggling to stand as people around him screamed. Roughly a dozen people could be seen on the ground, covered in dirt or debris from the building; some were wounded, and several appeared to be dead. Armed men wearing camouflage outfits were helping to move the bodies, which were placed on truck beds. Photographs he took after the attack showed bodies in a heap on a bloody sidewalk outside a low-slung, heavily damaged building.
The reasons for the attack were unclear, but activists speculated that it was a government response to the arrival of rebel fighters in Halfaya. The rebels occupied the town last week after embarking on a broad offensive to seize territory around the city of Hama, where the government has kept tight control after suppressing protests in the city last year. In several days of fighting, civilians have been caught between the warring sides, a volatile development in a part of the country where members of Syria’s many sects live among one another in neighboring villages.The reasons for the attack were unclear, but activists speculated that it was a government response to the arrival of rebel fighters in Halfaya. The rebels occupied the town last week after embarking on a broad offensive to seize territory around the city of Hama, where the government has kept tight control after suppressing protests in the city last year. In several days of fighting, civilians have been caught between the warring sides, a volatile development in a part of the country where members of Syria’s many sects live among one another in neighboring villages.
Human rights groups have accused the government of indiscriminate attacks on or near bakeries in the past, especially in the northern city of Aleppo. In a three-week period in the summer, Human Rights Watch documented 10 separate bombings on bakeries in the city.Human rights groups have accused the government of indiscriminate attacks on or near bakeries in the past, especially in the northern city of Aleppo. In a three-week period in the summer, Human Rights Watch documented 10 separate bombings on bakeries in the city.
Mr. Brahimi’s visit was likely to increase speculation about a deal to remove Mr. Assad from power. The talk has grown as rebel forces have claimed gains near government strongholds. There was unconfirmed speculation that Mr. Brahimi, perhaps trying to broker a deal that would help ease Mr. Assad out, planned soon to visit Russia, where officials have sought to distance themselves from Mr. Assad in recent weeks as the nearly two-year-old conflict in Syria has worsened.
Russia, one of Syria’s most reliable allies, has recently sent signals that it is distancing itself from the Syrian president. On Saturday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said several countries in the region had offered Mr. Assad asylum, but he added that Moscow would not mediate on their behalf. In Moscow on Monday, the Interfax news service quoted an unidentified military official as saying detachments of marines and “several pieces of military hardware” were aboard warships headed for the Syrian port of Tartus, Russia’s military outpost in Syria, the presumed departure point for Russian expatriates.
Ruslan R. Aliyev, an analyst with the Center for the Analysis of Strategy and Technologies, a defense research group based in Moscow, said renewed discussion of evacuations by Russia’s Foreign Ministry reflected what he described as Moscow’s deeply pessimistic prognosis for the region.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said on Saturday that several countries in the region had offered Mr. Assad asylum, but he added that Moscow would not mediate on their behalf.
It was the third visit to Syria by Mr. Brahimi since he assumed his post in August, and it occurred as fighting grew worse in the eastern and southern suburbs of Damascus, where rebel commanders say they are trying to establish staging grounds for attacks on the capital.It was the third visit to Syria by Mr. Brahimi since he assumed his post in August, and it occurred as fighting grew worse in the eastern and southern suburbs of Damascus, where rebel commanders say they are trying to establish staging grounds for attacks on the capital.
West-central Syria has become the latest front in the war, with the rebels attacking government checkpoints and other positions in an effort to disrupt the military’s supply lines and to push south from opposition strongholds in northern Syria. The offensive has led to growing fears for civilians in the area.West-central Syria has become the latest front in the war, with the rebels attacking government checkpoints and other positions in an effort to disrupt the military’s supply lines and to push south from opposition strongholds in northern Syria. The offensive has led to growing fears for civilians in the area.
On Friday, a group of rebel fighters posted a video in which they threatened to shell Christian villages unless residents forced government loyalists to leave. Local church leaders have pleaded for peace and an end to sectarian strife.On Friday, a group of rebel fighters posted a video in which they threatened to shell Christian villages unless residents forced government loyalists to leave. Local church leaders have pleaded for peace and an end to sectarian strife.
Before the bombing on Sunday, Halfaya had been repeatedly shelled from loyalist positions in a nearby village, activists said.Before the bombing on Sunday, Halfaya had been repeatedly shelled from loyalist positions in a nearby village, activists said.
In some photographs that Samer, the activist, said he took at the bakery, one fighter, with his hands resting on his head, stared in shock at the bodies around him. Another carried body parts. Bystanders searched for survivors under the rubble. Another man picked up a piece of bread lying next to someone’s slippers.In some photographs that Samer, the activist, said he took at the bakery, one fighter, with his hands resting on his head, stared in shock at the bodies around him. Another carried body parts. Bystanders searched for survivors under the rubble. Another man picked up a piece of bread lying next to someone’s slippers.
In other amateur video apparently shot in a hospital, doctors tended to bleeding men lying on the floor, a teenage boy slumped against a wall and a woman lay on her side on a gurney. Antigovernment groups said 60 to 90 people were killed, but the toll was impossible to confirm. The bakery was one of three in the city, activists said. When word spread on Sunday that a flour shipment from Turkey had come in, people began lining up around noon, waiting for bread after a stretch of days when the bakeries had been idled.In other amateur video apparently shot in a hospital, doctors tended to bleeding men lying on the floor, a teenage boy slumped against a wall and a woman lay on her side on a gurney. Antigovernment groups said 60 to 90 people were killed, but the toll was impossible to confirm. The bakery was one of three in the city, activists said. When word spread on Sunday that a flour shipment from Turkey had come in, people began lining up around noon, waiting for bread after a stretch of days when the bakeries had been idled.
After the bombings, rebel fighters released a statement vowing revenge.After the bombings, rebel fighters released a statement vowing revenge.

Hala Droubi contributed reporting from Jidda, Saudi Arabia.

Kareem Fahim reported from Beirut, and Ellen Barry from Moscow. Reporting was contributed by Hwaida Saad from Beirut, Hala Droubi from Jidda, Saudi Arabia, and Rick Gladstone from New York.