DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian government forces for the first time hit the country’s largest Palestinian refugee neighborhood with airstrikes on Sunday, killing at least eight people in the Yarmouk district of Damascus and reportedly driving dozens of formerly pro-government Palestinian fighters to defect to the rebels.
Meanwhile, new signs emerged Sunday of political pressure on President Bashar Assad.
Assad’s vice president was quoted as saying neither side could win the war and calling for “new partners” in a unity government, a possible sign that at least some in the government were exploring new ways out of the crisis. The comments came as two close allies, the government of Iran and the leader of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, appeared to slightly temper their support.
In Yarmouk, burned body parts littered the ground at the Sheik Abdul Qader Mosque, which had offered shelter to Palestinians and others displaced by fighting in other areas. Women, crying children and whitebearded men thronged the streets with hurriedly packed bags, not sure where to look for safety.
For many Yarmouk residents - refugees from conflict with Israel and their descendants - the attacks shattered what was left ofthe Syrian government’s claim to be a champion and protector of Palestinians, a position that the Assad family relied upon as a source of domestic and international legitimacy during more than 40 years of iron-fisted rule.
“For decades the Assad regime was talking about the Palestinians’ rights,” said a Palestinian refugee who gave his name as Abu Ammar as he debated whether to flee with his wife and five children from the camp, on the southern edge of Damascus. “But Bashar al-Assad has killed more of us today than Israel did in its latest war on Gaza.”
The Palestinian militant group and political party Hamas has broken with Assad over his crackdown on what began as a peaceful protest movement, and while most Palestinian parties still profess neutrality, a growing number of Palestinians support - and have even joined - the rebels.
Several of Assad’s allies signaled a new push for a peaceful solution. Iran’s Foreign Ministry called for an end to military action, the release of political prisoners and a broad-based dialogue to form a transitional government that would hold free elections, Iran’s state news agency reported.
The plan, described by state media and Iranian news agencies, also calls for efforts to halt the flow of weapons into Syria and to hold talks that include the Assad’s government.
The proposals were offered during the opening of a two-day conference that includes 200 Syrian religious and political figures and envoys from countries including Syrian neighbors Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon, according to the semioffical Fars news agency. Key Syrian rebel figures did not attend.
Last week more than 100 nations, including the U.S., recognized the new Syrian opposition council as the legitimate representative of the country.
Fighting continued in the northern city of Aleppo, where rebels overran a military base, the second military installation to fall there in a week.
A statement by the al-Tawheed Brigade said the rebels “fully liberated” the military facility in Aleppo on Saturday. It was posted on al-Tawheed’s official website on Sundayand said the Islamist rebel brigade’s commander was killed in the battle.
The complex, known as Hanano Barracks, includes an army base, a recruiting center and a military school.
The Al-Tawheed Brigade is one of the largest rebel groups operating in Aleppo, which has been a major front in the civil war since July.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it has evacuated more than 4,000 Egyptians and their families from Syria over the past several months.
The Sunday statement did not provide a more specific time frame for the evacuations. It cited one recent instance of 90 people, including Egyptians and their Syrian spouses and children, who were given special passage through the Syria-Lebanon border before being taken to the Beirut airport.
Fighting has recently intensified around the Syrian capital. Egypt’s national air carrier halted all flights to and from Syria late last month because of the deteriorating security situation around Damascus airport and the roads leading to it.
Information for this article was contributed by Barbara Surk, Maamoun Youssef, Mohammed Daraghmeh, Albert Aji and staff members of The Associated Press and by Anne Barnard, Hani Mourtada, Hala Droubi and a staff member of The New York Times.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/17/2012