China and Russia Block Referral of Syria to Court

The New York Times reports on the U.N. Security Council’s failure to pass a resolution that would have empowered the International Criminal Court in the Hague “to go after perpetrators of crimes in Syria” after China and Russia, Assad’s steadfast allies, vetoed it.

Jan Eliasson, the U.N.’s deputy secretary-general, said, “If members of the Council continue to be unable to agree on a measure that could provide some accountability for the ongoing crimes, the credibility of this body and the entire organization will continue to suffer.”

Thursday’s vote “underscored the paradox at the heart of how cases can be referred to the court. Syria has not signed the international treaty that created the court, which is why the court cannot start an inquiry, no matter how egregious the crimes. The court can act only if the Council demands it. Political deadlock among the Council’s five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — has made that impossible.”

Mortar Hits Assad Election Rally, Killing Scores

The AP reports that a mortar shell struck an election rally for Assad in the southern province of Deraa, killing a number of people.

“The state-run SANA news agency said the mortar strike Thursday killed an unspecific number of people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on activists on the ground for its reports, said the shelling killed 21 people, including 11 civilians.

“There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Rebels trying to overthrow Assad frequently fire mortars into Syria’s major cities, including the capital, Damascus, from opposition-held suburbs. The rally for Assad comes ahead of the country’s June 3 presidential election. Assad is widely expected to win a third, seven-year mandate despite facing two other candidates in a vote criticized by the West and opposition groups.”

U.S. Steps Up Scrutiny of American Fighters in Syria

Reuters reports that the Justice Department “has tapped a veteran prosecutor to probe the flow of foreign fighters, including Americans, who are joining Syria’s rebels, U.S. officials said, in a sign of heightened alarm over the threat of radicalized militants returning home.

It says that in addition, the FBI “has formed a special team to identify U.S. citizens traveling to Syria to fight with anti-government groups, and is working with both intelligence and law enforcement agencies to investigate such individuals.”

For months, U.S. security officials have expressed growing concerns about the stream of Western militants going to Syria, most of whom join extremist factions Jabhat al-Nusra, which is affiliated with al-Qaida, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. They fear that the fighters, once radicalized, will launch terror attacks once they return home.

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