By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Reuters) – U.N.-Arab League envoy
Kofi Annan told the Security Council on Thursday that Syria has
not fully complied with the terms of his peace plan but called
for the swift deployment of a U.N. truce-monitoring force to the
country, council diplomats said.
A fragile U.N.-backed ceasefire aimed at halting more than a
year of bloodshed in Syria appeared to be holding on Thursday
but there were no signs that President Bashar al-Assad was
pulling his forces out of restive cities.
Russia and China, which have twice vetoed council
resolutions condemning Assad’s 13-month assault on
anti-government protesters but are strong supporters of Annan’s
peace efforts, urged Damascus and the opposition to meet all the
terms and conditions of Annan’s plan.
Annan told council members that the precarious truce needed
support and called for the early arrival of a first wave of
unarmed observers to monitor implementation of his six-point
peace plan, to be followed by a second wave of observers later.
“Mr. Annan confirmed that what has happened today does not
constitute full compliance by the Syrian government … as
Syrian forces and weapons remain in and around population
centers,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice,
the Security Council president for April.
“He emphasized that Syrian troops and armor must return to
their barracks immediately,” she told reporters after a
closed-door council meeting which Annan addressed via video link
from Geneva.
Syrian U.N. envoy Bashar Ja’afari complained that “eight
violations took place this morning by the armed (rebel) groups.”
Ja’afari said that Syria is committed to cooperating with
Annan and fulfilling his peace plan, adding that Damascus had
already complied with calls to withdraw troops from Syrian
towns. He said others inside the country and abroad should
comply with Annan’s peace plan as well.
He was especially critical of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi
Arabia, which have been voicing support for the opposition.
Rice said Annan told the council there were “unconfirmed
reports” of some violence though he noted that this was not
unusual in the early stages of a ceasefire.
U.N. OBSERVER FORCE
The former U.N. secretary-general said earlier in a
statement that “Syria is experiencing a rare moment of calm on
the ground,” adding that it “must be sustained.”
“The Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, will be asking the
Security Council for approval of the deployment of a U.N.
Observer Mission as soon as possible,” Annan said in his
statement.
“This will allow us to move quickly to launch a serious
political dialogue that will address the concerns and
aspirations of the Syrian people,” he said.
Annan’s six-point plan calls for a ceasefire by Syrian armed
forces and rebels, the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons,
and dialogue between the government and opposition aimed at a
“political transition” for the country.
Annan has called for 200 to 250 unarmed U.N.-mandated
observers to monitor the ceasefire.
Rice said negotiations on a resolution authorizing the
deployment of a U.N. observer force would begin “as early as
this afternoon.” Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said
the council could adopt it as early as on Friday.
“The full-fledged mission will take some time to deploy …
If we are able to put 20 or 30 monitors (there) early next week,
very good,” Churkin said. “If we are able to put more in the
next few days that’s even better.”
Syrian forces have killed more than 9,000 people in the past
year, according to a U.N. estimate. Damascus says rebels have
killed more than 2,600 soldiers and security personnel.
Withdrawing troops from Syrian towns and cities is just as
important as the ceasefire, China’s U.N. envoy Li Baodong said.
“We fully support Kofi Annan’s six-point plan and we believe
the ceasefire is very important – as is also pulling troops out
of the towns and cities by the Syrian government … very, very
important,” Li said.
Churkin said that Russia also wanted to see Annan’s peace
plan implemented in full.
