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From correspondents in Damascus
AFP
April 09, 2012 7:55AM SYRIA has demanded guarantees that armed groups cease fire before
withdrawing its troops as agreed with special envoy Kofi Annan, even as
a UN truce deadline loomed.
The foreign ministry's request came as a weekend escalation in violence
claimed almost 180 lives, most of them civilians, ahead of the UN
deadline of Tuesday for regime forces to cease fire. The surge in bloodshed prompted harsh words from Mr Annan who said the
escalation was "unacceptable" while France also denounced as
"unacceptable" Syria's demand for guarantees. Monitors said 51 people were killed on Sunday, a day after nearly 130
died across Syria, while 200 others were arrested in raids by government
forces pushing to crush dissent. "To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is
inaccurate, Kofi Annan having not yet presented written guarantees on
the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence," the
foreign ministry said. On Thursday, the UN Security Council formally endorsed the deadline, but
Damascus said a day later that the number of "terrorist acts" has risen
since the deal was agreed with the UN and Arab League envoy. "Mr Annan has not submitted written guarantees from the governments of
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on stopping their funding to terrorist
groups," the foreign ministry said of its key regional critics. Mr Annan's peace plan calls for the withdrawal of the Syrian army from
protest cities on Tuesday, with a complete end to fighting 48 hours later. "Syria is not going to repeat what happened in the presence of Arab
observers when armed forces left towns," the foreign ministry said,
referring to a failed Arab monitoring mission at the turn of the year. Mr Annan "said he would work to stop the violence, disarm armed
groups... initiate a comprehensive national dialogue with opposition
movements," when he met President Bashar al-Assad last month, the
ministry said. "It is this principle on which Syria accepted Annan's mission and his
six-point plan." Reacting to the challenge from the regime, the chief of the Free Syrian
Army, which is made up mostly of deserters from the military, said his
rebel fighters will respect the peace plan. "We are committed to the Annan plan," Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad said from
Beirut by telephone. "We will present our guarantees and our commitments
to the international community, but not to this (Syrian) regime." In a statement in Geneva, Mr Annan expressed "shock" at the surge in
violence, urging the government in Damascus to respect its commitments.
"I remind the Syrian government of the need for full implementation of
its commitments and stress that the present escalation of violence is
unacceptable. "This is a time when we must all urgently work towards a full cessation
of hostilities, providing the space for humanitarian access and creating
the conditions for a political process." The former UN chief said he was in "constant contact" with the
government, and asked "all states with influence on the parties to use
it now to ensure an end to the bloodshed and the beginning of dialogue." The United Nations says more than 9000 people have been killed since
anti-regime protests broke out in March 2011, while monitors put the
number at more than 10,000. The main umbrella opposition group the Syrian National Council called
for UN intervention after monitoring groups said 86 of nearly 130 people
killed on Saturday were civilians. Another 26 civilians, 17 soldiers and eight deserters were killed across
the country on Sunday, monitors said. Meanwhile the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that
deserters shot down a military helicopter in the northwest Idlib
province, where fighting raged between rebels and army troops, quoting
"several sources." "The (unidentified) sources said they saw the aircraft exploding in the
air before crashing," the Britain-based monitoring group said, adding
that the incident was the first of its kind in the year-long conflict. The incident, which could not be immediately confirmed by rebel or
official sources, reportedly took place in the Jisr al-Shughur region of
Idlib. Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said a humanitarian
intervention under the protection of military forces could be the next
stage if the Annan plan is not respected.
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