* U.N. chief alarmed by Syria violence, rights abuse
* All fighting in Syria supposed to stop 6 a.m. Thursday
* Ban says ceasefire timeline should be respected
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS, April 9 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he deplores the cross-border
shootings from Syria into Turkey and Lebanon ahead of a
ceasefire deadline in the yearlong conflict that has pushed
Syria to the brink of civil war.
Turkey said two officials working in a refugee camp near the
country’s border with Syria were among five people wounded on
Monday by gunfire coming from Syria as troops clashed with
rebels nearby. Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed television channel said
Syrian soldiers fatally shot a cameraman as he stood on the
Lebanese side of the border.
“The secretary-general is alarmed by the reports of
continued violence and human rights violations in Syria, which
resulted in an increased flow of refugees into neighboring
countries,” Ban’s office said in a statement.
“The secretary-general strongly deplores today’s fatal
cross-border shootings from Syria into Turkey, as well as into
Lebanon,” it said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to stop the use
of heavy weapons and withdraw troops from towns by Tuesday as
part of a U.N.-backed peace plan brokered by U.N. Arab League
envoy Kofi Annan.
Annan has said the government and opposition must stop
fighting at 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Thursday, if
Damascus meets its first deadline 48 hours earlier
.
The United Nations says Assad’s forces have killed more than
9,000 people in the past year in his attempts to crush
pro-democracy demonstrations across the country. Syria told the
world body last week that 6,044 had died, including 2,566
soldiers and police.
The U.N. Security Council, including China and Syria’s
staunch ally Russia, on Thursday unanimously adopted a statement
endorsing the deadlines for an end to the Syria conflict and
warning Damascus it would consider further steps if it failed to
live up to its commitments.
Assad on Sunday said his foes must give written guarantees
they would stop fighting and lay down their arms – a demand that
was immediately rejected.
“The timeline for the complete cessation of violence
endorsed by the Security Council must be respected by all
without condition,” Ban’s office said.
Western diplomats have expressed skepticism about Assad’s
intentions, noting he has broken previous promises to halt
military action against civilian protesters.
