BEIRUT - Syria's President Bashar Assad planned to respond to US and European demands for his ouster in a rare interview Sunday, as a Western diplomat and activists accused the regime of trying to scrub away signs of the crackdown ahead of the visit of a UN team. Assad will also address government reforms and his “future vision” for Syria in the evening television interview with Syrian TV, the station said. It will be Assad's fourth public appearance since the revolt against his family's 40-year rule erupted in mid-March, but the only first time he has agreed to take any questions — although from the state-owned network. The Syrian leader has come under mounting criticism over the brutal military offensive that has used tanks, snipers and gunboats to try to crush the uprising. Most recently, the United States and its European allies on Thursday demanded he step down. Late Saturday, former ally Turkey called Syria's situation “unsustainable.” Assad rarely grants interviews to local media outlets. His previous appearances were nationally televised speeches that led to even larger protests calling for his downfall. In his last speech on June 20, he blamed the unrest on a foreign conspiracy and on “saboteurs,” offered modest potential reforms, but gave no sign he'd move toward ending the his family's political domination. The daily Al-Thawra newspaper, which speaks for the Syrian regime, on Saturday rejected the Obama administration's calls and any foreign intervention in Syria. It said the demands revealed the “face of the conspiracy” against Damascus, which has grown increasingly isolated by the regime's deadly crackdown on protesters. The latest casualties from the weekend — including a prominent activist shot dead — suggest Assad is either unwilling to stop the violence or not fully in control of his own regime. Activists say nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed in the revolt. “The situation is not sustainable,” the Anatolia news agency quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying to Turkish journalists during a visit to South Africa late Saturday. “It is not about external reaction or pressure. The Syrian leadership must reconcile with the people. Otherwise it would be difficult for the country to create public order,” he said. Davutoglu said he traveled to Damascus earlier this month and he and Assad agreed to a “roadmap” during talks, but that deadly operations against protesters intensified within two days of the meeting. Turkey, a neighbor and former close ally of Syria, has been increasingly frustrated with Damascus' crackdown. But Turkey, Syria's most important trade partner, has not joined new US and European sanctions. A Western diplomat said a UN team assessing humanitarian needs in the country arrived in Damascus late Saturday and started work Sunday. The team has received permission to visit some of the centers of protest and crackdown, including the coastal town of Latakia, the central cities of Homs and Hama, the southern city of Daraa and areas in Idlib province north of the country. The team is scheduled to visit Latakia on Monday. Activists said authorities were cleaning up the city's al-Ramel neighborhood after a four-day military operation earlier this week. The Western diplomat confirmed the area, which is home to thousands of Palestinian refugees, was being subjected to “a serious clean up operation” in advance of the arrival of the UN humanitarian mission led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “In Latakia they are literally sweeping glass and stones up and scrubbing blood off the streets,” he said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. “But any attempts to whitewash and destroy evidence can only backfire on this isolated regime,” he said. A high-level UN team recommended Thursday that the violence in Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court over possible crimes against humanity. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told the UN Security Council this week that any assessment must be conducted independently, with no restrictions. There has been no official comment in Syria following Assad's declaration to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday that military and security operations have stopped. The government's offensive has continued across the country, although on a smaller scale, despite that pledge. Activists said security forces stormed the Khaldieh district in Homs Sunday, carrying out a security raid and random arrests. They said the military also stormed districts in the northern Idlib province. Activists said security forces on Saturday shot dead two people in the town of Rastan, near the provincial capital of Homs, including Mahmoud Ayoub, a prominent activist who organized protests. The group said troops also wounded at least eight people Saturday in Homs, where a general strike was under way to protest the crackdown and most of the city's markets were closed.
