* Ban Ki-moon and Annan hold talks, discuss “sporadic
violence”
* Ban says prime responsibility lies with Assad govt
* Pledge to deploy ceasefire monitors “as quickly as
possible”
GENEVA, April 14 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon said on Saturday the Syrian government had the prime
responsibility to stop the violence in the country and withdraw
its forces from urban areas in line with international mediator
Kofi Annan’s peace plan.
Ban and Annan, who held 90 minutes of talks in Geneva,
issued a statement welcoming the U.N. Security Council’s
adoption of a resolution authorising the sending of an initial
team to monitor the ceasefire in Syria and said they would do
their best to deploy the monitors “as quickly as possible”.
Russia and China joined the rest of the Security Council to
authorise the deployment of up to 30 unarmed observers to Syria
to monitor a ceasefire that went into effect at dawn on
Thursday.
Opposition activists said at least six people were killed in
Syria on Saturday. Activists also reported the first shelling,
in the city of Homs, by forces loyal to President Bashar
al-Assad, in three days.
“The Secretary-General reiterated that it is the government
of Syria which has the primary responsibility to stop the
violence and withdraw its forces,” the statement said.
Annan, joint special envoy of the U.N. and Arab League,
briefed Ban on his contacts with Syrian officials, the
opposition and with countries with influence, it said.
The statement said Annan “elaborated on the efforts to
secure the full implementation of the 6-point plan, and to
launch a political process that would address the concerns and
aspirations of the Syrian people”.
The two men had reviewed the status of the cessation of
violence in Syria, “including reports of sporadic violence and
the continued presence of the Syrian Armed Forces in population
centres”, it said.
They reiterated their call to all those with influence to
encourage the opposition to “take reciprocal steps in ensuring
the cessation of violence”.
