Sunday, May 6, 2012

Syria opposition leader in China for talks

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  • Despite the visit, China says it has not changed its stance on Syria
  • China has said it does not support forced regime change
  • Opposition leader's visit follows days of violence, including a blast in Aleppo on Saturday

(CNN) -- The head of a Syrian leading opposition political group arrives in China for talks Sunday amid violence in the Middle East nation despite a cease-fire implemented last month.

Burhan Ghalioun, president of the Syrian National Council, will meet foreign ministry officials during the visit ending Wednesday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite the visit, China has not changed its stance on Syria, a foreign ministry official said.

China and Russia derailed a U.N. Security Council resolution this year demanding an end to attacks on peaceful protesters in Syria, a position that sparked international outrage.

China has said it does not support forced regime change and called on Syrians to decide their own fate.

The country ranked as Syria's third-largest importer in 2010, according to data from the European Commission.

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The visit follows days of violence, including an explosion near Syria's largest city of Aleppo that killed at least five people Saturday, opposition activists said.

The blast occurred as security forces drove by in a bus, but it was unclear whether the fatalities were soldiers or civilians, according to the Britain-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It also reported separate blasts in the capital of Damascus.

Aleppo, a bastion of support for President Bashar al-Assad, has been largely spared in Syria's 14 months of bloody uprising. Recent protests there could signal a significant shift.

"The regime is very worried," said Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert who is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Their actions in the last few days demonstrate that."

At least 25 people were killed across the nation Saturday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

CNN cannot independently verify reports of violence and deaths within Syria because the government has restricted access by most of the international media.

Syria's anti-regime protests started peacefully in March of last year, but a government crackdown spawned violence that has left thousands dead and prompted some military defectors to take up arms against the regime forces. The government has blamed the violence on "armed terrorists."

Attacks and clashes violate a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, escalating doubts on whether the 14-month uprising can be resolved.

A cease-fire went into effect April 12 as part of a six-point peace plan negotiated by Annan.

The plan includes the government allowing humanitarian groups access to the population, releasing detainees, starting a political dialogue and withdrawing troops from city centers.

The United Nations estimates that at least 9,000 people have died in the conflict but that estimate is old and believed low by opposition groups.

CNN's Saad Abedine contributed to this report.

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