Flavia Krause-Jackson, Dahlia Kholaif
April 5, 2012.
Demonstrators near Idlib protest this week against President Bashar Al-Assad. Photo: Reuters
FIERCE clashes erupted after Syria's regime sent reinforcements into rebel areas yesterday despite a truce pledge, as the UN said it was rushing a team to Damascus to pave the way for unarmed peacekeepers.
The surge in violence killed at least 38 people, including 25 civilians, mostly in north and central Syria, and brought a string of arson attacks on homes, activists and monitors said.
The activists reported heavy shelling in the cities of Hama and Homs, as well as large deployments of security forces sweeping through those cities, the northern city of Idlib and the southern city of Daraa, the birthplace of the Syrian uprising, now in its second year.
The fighting comes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to an April 10 ceasefire, which Western nations say they doubt he will respect.
The planning team from the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations was heading for the Syrian capital ''to discuss the modalities of the eventual deployment of a UN supervision and monitoring mission'', spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.
After the first group of about six observers, the number would eventually rise to about 250, provided the ceasefire takes effect.
''All members think you cannot send monitors unarmed into a hot situation,'' said Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN. ''We need [a] cessation of violence and one that's credible.''
Western nations and their Arab allies say they have seen little sign of restraint from Syrian forces since the April 2 announcement of a ceasefire. At least 42 people died in violence on Tuesday, Al-Arabiya television reported, adding to a death toll estimated by the UN at 9000.
''We have been able to identify no withdrawal of mechanised units,'' US State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said after remarks by Syria's foreign minister that his country was complying with the plan offered by UN special envoy Kofi Annan.
''We are going to judge this guy [Dr Assad] by his actions, not by his words.''
Mr Annan told the Security Council earlier this week that Dr Assad had agreed by April 10 to halt advances by his troops, stop using heavy weapons and withdraw forces from major centres. Opposition groups say the fighting has continued unabated since Syria accepted the plan in principle on March 27.
The Security Council will weigh ''further steps'' if Dr Assad fails to respect the April 10 deadline, according to a draft statement.
The presence of UN peacekeeping monitors would require Dr Assad's permission and a Security Council resolution, which Russia, an ally of Dr Assad, has the power to veto.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said ''ultimatums and artificial deadlines rarely help matters''.
Even so, Ms Nuland said Washington had noticed greater co-operation from Moscow. ''We have been feeling convergence on the Security Council for some two weeks now,'' she said, citing the council's statement of support for Mr Annan's six-point plan.
The Arab League sent about 150 unarmed monitors on a month-long mission to Syria earlier this year that failed to stop the violence. This time, ensuring unfettered access to trouble spots and having weapons experts available, could enhance the credibility of a mission, according to Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Centre.
''There are lessons to be learnt from the Arab League observer mission, where they were intimidated by the environment and lacked experience,'' he said.
AGENCIES
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/cities-hit-despite-syria-ceasefire-vow-20120404-1wd17.html#ixzz1r6Lc0luj
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