DAMASCUS, 17 October 2003 — Syria’s armed forces chief of staff ordered his troops yesterday to be on high alert against any possible Israeli “aggression” after Israeli warplanes struck a site near Damascus earlier this month.
Lt. Gen. Hasan Turkmani urged “fighters to keep working day and night and stay at maximum readiness and be alert to repel any possible aggression of (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon’s government”, the state news agency reported.
A senior Israeli security source denied the Jewish state sought new hostilities with Syria, with which it is officially at war. “We do not intend to escalate tensions,” the source said.
Israel carried out an airstrike on Oct. 5 against what it said was a training camp for “terror groups” after a bombing in Haifa killed 20 people. Islamic Jihad said it was behind the attack.
Israel said it reserved the right to attack “terrorist organizations and their leaders” even on foreign soil.
The Syrian order came a day after the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impose sanctions on Syria until the White House said it had stopped sponsoring terrorism and halted programs for weapons of mass destruction.
The bill would, among other things, reduce diplomatic contact between the two countries and ban US trade with Syria in items that could be used in weapons programs. The House voted 398-4 to support the bill after the White House, which has accused Syria of ignoring US requests to crack down on Palestinian and Lebanese groups, lifted its objections to the legislation.
A similar Senate bill has 76 co-sponsors out of 100 senators and the Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled hearings on it later this month.
Late on Wednesday, the White House nominated a new ambassador to Syria. The White House said US President George W. Bush had nominated veteran diplomat Margaret Scobey to be the US ambassador to Syria.
Scobey is currently deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Riyadh.
