Syrian minister accuses U.S. allies of stoking ‘terrorism’

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Syrian foreign minister accused the U.S. and its allies of stoking “terrorism” in his country, delivering an uncompromising message before the United Nations on Monday as fighting spread in a centerpiece of Syria’s cultural heritage, the historic Old City of Aleppo.

Elsewhere in the country, a government air raid on a northern town killed at least 21 people, activists said.

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting, Walid al-Moallem denounced countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey for supporting the opposition, and also lashed out at calls in Washington and in Arab and European capitals for President Bashar Assad to step down.

“This terrorism which is externally supported is accompanied by unprecedented media provocation based on igniting religious extremism sponsored by well-known states in the region,” he said, an apparent allusion to an anti-Islam film produced in the U.S. that has sparked protests throughout the Muslim world.

He invited the opposition to “work together to stop the shedding of Syrian blood” and said that a Syrian-led dialogue could produce a “more pluralistic and democratic” country.

Tags: news, international, syria