BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has ordered a referendum on Feb. 26 on a new constitution that would open the way to political parties other than the ruling Baath Party, the state news agency said Wednesday.
Amendments to Syria's constitution were a key demand by the opposition at the beginning of the country's 11-month-old uprising against Assad.
But in the wake of the military's deadly assault on dissent, many opposition leaders are demanding nothing less than Assad's departure.
The current Syrian constitution enshrines Assad's Baath Party as the leader of the state. But according to the new draft, obtained by The Associated Press, "the state's political system is based on political pluralism and power is practiced democratically through voting."
The draft also says the president can hold office only for a maximum of two seven-year terms. Assad, who inherited power from his father, has been in power for nearly 12 years.
The Syrian revolt started in March with mostly peaceful protests against the authoritarian regime. But the conflict has become far more violent and militarized in recent months as army defectors fight back against government forces.
Many observers fear the conflict is taking on the dimensions of a civil war.
The violence continued Wednesday. Activists said an oil pipeline in the central city of Homs was attacked, and regime troops stormed several residential neighborhoods in the nearby city of Hama.
Video by Homs activists broadcast on social networking sites showed thick black smoke billowing from what appeared to be a residential area.
The Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Homs pipeline was in the rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amr, which has been shelled by regime troops for the past 12 days.
Homs is home to one of Syria's two oil refineries. It has also been one of the cities hardest hit by Assad's crackdown.
U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay told the General Assembly this week that more than 5,400 people were killed last year alone, and that the number of dead and injured continues to rise daily.
Syria's oil and gas pipelines have been attacked before during the 11-month uprising.
The agency, SANA, blamed "armed terrorists" for Wednesday's attack on the pipeline. It said the pipeline feeds the tankers in the Damascus suburb of Adra, which contribute in supplying gasoline to the capital and southern regions.
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