DAMASCUS: The Syrian regime is not bound by a deadline to withdraw its troops from strife-torn areas, pro-government daily Al-Watan on Thursday quoted a government official as saying.
"There
is no set date or deadline," the unnamed official said.
"April
10 is the date set for the beginning, not the end, of the withdrawal
of troops and it does not constitute a deadline."
The
United Nations had announced earlier this week that Damascus agreed
to complete the withdrawal of regime forces from populated centres by
April 10, in accordance with a peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League
envoy Kofi Annan.
But activists
on the ground and monitors say the regime of President Bashar
al-Assad was clearly not honouring the accord given the continued
troop deployments and violence across the country.
The
official quoted by Al-Watan said the Syrian foreign ministry had
linked the troop withdrawal to a commitment by rebels to also honour
Annan's six-point peace plan, aimed at ending one year of violence
that has left more than 9,000 people dead, according to the United
Nations.
Annan's spokesman said
on Thursday that the former UN chief expects both the Syrian
government and the opposition to fully implement the ceasefire
agreement by April 12.
"What
we expect on April 10 is that the Syrian government will have
completed its withdrawal from populated centres ... and then we begin
a 48-hour period during which there will be a complete cessation of
all forms of violence by all parties," Ahmad Fawzi told
reporters in Geneva.
"So the
clock starts ticking on the 10th on both sides to cease all forms of
violence," he added.
The
Syrian regime has told Annan that it has begun withdrawing troops
from some parts of the country, said Fawzi, adding that "we are
in the process of verification."
An
advance team dispatched by Annan to pave the way for peacekeepers is
expected to arrive in Damascus on Thursday.
They
will "begin discussing with the Syrian authorities the
modalities of the eventual deployment of this UN supervision and
monitoring mission," said Fawzi.
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AFP/cc
Annan team in Damascus as UN backs truce ultimatum
DAMASCUS: A UN team sent by peace broker Kofi Annan arrived in Syria on Thursday to pave the way for observers, as the Security Council backed an April 10 deadline for the regime to end its deadly crackdown.
The
developments occurred as Annan said the Syrian government had
announced a partial withdrawal from protest cities, but that this had
not been confirmed and that "alarming levels" of deaths
were still being reported.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there was no sign of
withdrawals, with regime forces launching fresh assaults on rebel
strongholds, and that 38 people were killed nationwide, among them 17
civilians.
The
advance UN team headed by Norwegian General Robert Mood, a Middle
East specialist, will discuss with the authorities "the
modalities of the eventual deployment of the UN supervising mission,"
Annan spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.
Annan
told the Security Council on Monday it should consider whether to
send a mission to monitor events in Syria, where activists say more
than 10,000 people have been killed since March 2011 in the crackdown
on dissent.
Fawzi
said the observers can be sent only after a Security Council
resolution ordering their deployment.
The
council formally backed the April 10 deadline that former UN chief
Annan agreed with Damascus to end its military offensive on protest
cities.
A
statement called on Damascus to "begin pullback of military
concentrations in and around population centres, and to fulfil these
in their entirety by no later than April 10, 2012."
It
also called "upon all parties, including the opposition, to
cease armed violence in all its forms" within 48 hours of the
above being implemented.
In
remarks to the UN General Assembly, Annan urged the "government
and the opposition commanders to issue clear instructions so that the
message reaches across the country down to the fighter and soldier at
the local level.
"It
is clear that more far-reaching action is urgently required.
Immediate and verifiable steps are needed to complete implementation
of commitments in the crucial days ahead," he said.
"We
must silence the tanks, helicopters, mortars, guns and stop all other
forms of violence too: sexual abuse, torture, executions, abductions,
destruction of homes, forced displacement and other abuses including
on children."
Annan
said opposition groups his team had spoken to had "committed to
call for cessation of violence once the Syrian government has
demonstrably fulfilled its commitments."
Annan
spokesman Fawzi said in Geneva that "what we expect on April 10
is that the Syrian government will have completed its withdrawal from
populated centres... and then we begin a 48-hour period during which
there will be a complete cessation of all forms of violence by all
parties.
"So
the clock starts ticking on the 10th on both sides to cease all forms
of violence."
Yet
pro-government daily Al-Watan quoted an unnamed government official
as saying Damascus is not bound by a deadline.
"April
10 is the date set for the beginning, not the end, of the withdrawal
of troops and it does not constitute a deadline," it said.
On
the ground, the Observatory said plumes of smoke could be seen near
the main mosque in Douma just outside Damascus as troop
reinforcements were sent in.
Two
young men were killed in Kfar Sousa, a neighbourhood of Damascus,
when security forces opened fire on their car, it said.
And
two children were among four civilians killed in bombardment of the
rebel town of Rastan in central Homs province.
In
the city of Homs, eight regime forces were killed and dozens wounded,
and at least eight people killed in fighting in Idlib province along
with at least six regime forces, the Observatory said.
French
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he had little confidence Annan's
plan would end the repression.
"Can
we be optimistic? I'm not," Juppe told reporters in Paris.
"I
think Bashar Al-Assad is cheating us. He is pretending to accept Kofi
Annan's six-point peace plan but at the same time he continues to use
force."
Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West against issuing
ultimatums to Damascus.
"The
Syrian government has accepted (Annan's) proposals, has begun
implementing them, and it is very important right now not to
undermine this process through ultimatums and threats and
unfortunately there are those who'd like to do that," he
said.
The
foreign ministry said Lavrov told Annan by telephone that Moscow
backed Thursday's Security Council statement with the understanding
that a second deadline for the opposition to lay down weapons would
also be imposed.
The
surge in violence has sent Syrians fleeing, with an official in
Ankara saying more than 1,000 people had crossed the border in the
past 24 hours, bringing to nearly 21,000 the number of Syrian
refugees now in Turkey.
Meanwhile,
Syria has agreed to provide access to detention facilities throughout
the country, International Committee of the Red Cross chief Jakob
Kellenberger said on Thursday after a two-day visit to
Damascus.
-AFP/ac