NATO rules out no-fly zone over Syria

NATO has all but ruled out the possibility of establishing a no-fly zone over Syria after the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, warned that any western intervention would cause an 'earthquake' that would 'burn the whole region'.

Despite the success of its Libya mission, which formally ends on Monday, the Guardian quoted NATO officials as saying that there was little prospect of the alliance establishing a similar no-fly zone to protect civilians and stem the mounting death toll in the eight-month Syrian uprising.

Some Syrian anti-government groups have called on the West to defend them as bloody fighting between security forces and armed protesters escalates and the country drifts towards civil war.

Tanks were reported to have shelled a historic district in the central city and opposition stronghold of Homs today.

At least 20 soldiers were killed and 53 wounded on Saturday in clashes with opposition forces in the city.

Rebel gunmen also ambushed a bus in the north-west province of Idlib, killing 10 security officers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. One attacker also died.

But NATO officials said the Libya "template" is unlikely to work in Syria, adding that currently a Syrian "mission" lacks both international consensus and wider regional support.

The UN Security Council would need to approve any Syrian operation " a step that would be unlikely given Russian and Chinese opposition.

"We would need a clear mandate from the international community, as well as support from the Arab League and Syria's neighbours," a NATO official said, adding that so far "no-one had asked" for NATO's help.