LONDON: There is "every possibility" that Syria could descend into a civil war which could be worsened by foreign intervention, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the BBC on Sunday.
"I think there's every possibility of a civil war. Outside intervention would not prevent that -- it would probably expedite it," Clinton said in an interview conducted in Rabat, Morocco.
The comments were aired two days after Arab and Western foreign ministers met in Tunis to discuss the Syrian crisis and expressed sorrow at the ongoing bloodshed.
"As you try to play out every possible scenario, there are a lot of bad ones that we are trying to assess -- while keeping our eye on the need to get humanitarian aid in, to try to do everything we possibly can to support the Syrian opposition... and we're trying to help push a democratic transition.
"It took more than a year in Yemen, but finally there was a new president inaugurated. People kept being killed all the time, so these are very painful situations, there is no getting around it.
"I know how terrible things are in parts of Syria. Other parts are totally unaffected. So this is a difficult but necessary engagement for the world to stay focused on," she added.
Before the weekend, Clinton said Friday that the international community must work to change Russia and China's positions against measures to stop the Syrian regime's crackdown. Both nations have vetoed two UN resolutions.
She told the BBC on Sunday that there was still stiff opposition to any intervention.
"We still have a very strong opposition to foreign intervention, from inside Syria, from outside Syria," she said.
"We don't have the United Nations Security Council approval, legitimacy, credibility, that comes with the international community making a decision.
During a press conference in Rabat Clinton also appealed "to the members of the Syrian army to put their country first" and not shoot at civilians.
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