* Haffeh full of empty homes and burned-out buildings
* China snubs French proposal to let UN enforce Annan plan
* Plan for international Contact Group to meet on June 30
By Khaled al-Hariri
HAFFEH, Syria, June 14 (Reuters) – The Syrian town of Haffeh
was smouldering and nearly deserted on Thursday after days of
clashes between government forces and rebels, while activists
reported more army assaults on pro-opposition areas across the
country.
United Nations monitors had been trying to enter the town
after several days of fighting but were forced to turn back on
Tuesday when a crowd attacked them.
They finally gained access on Thursday to find state
buildings burnt down, shops abandoned and a body lying in the
street. Smoke rose from destroyed buildings and burnt-out cars
littered the streets. There were signs of a heavy bombardment.
Only a handful of residents could be seen and one man said
26,000 people had fled.
Rebels pulled out of the town this week saying that the
thousands of remaining citizens risked being killed in cold
blood, a warning echoed by the United States.
Violence has surged in recent weeks after rebels abandoned a
ceasefire negotiated by international envoy Kofi Annan in his
efforts to ease the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad
and the movement fighting to end his family’s four decade rule.
Security forces have used troops, tanks and helicopters to
hit at rebel-controlled suburbs near the capital Damascus, parts
of eastern Deir al-Zor province, and villages in the northern
and western parts of Aleppo province, near the Turkish border.
In Douma, about 15 km (10 miles) from Damascus, activists
said tanks had entered the city outskirts and government forces
were battling rebel fighters, activists said. At least two
people were killed and 15 wounded, they said.
“It is a war today,” said an activist who called himself
Ziad, speaking on Skype over the thump of shelling and the
rattle of machinegun fire. “There are 10 tanks on the outskirts,
but the rebels have destroyed one of them.”
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which
has a network of activists across the country, said rebellious
villages in the Aleppo countryside have been pounded by security
forces, with troops trying to surround and raid rebel-held
areas.
The uprising against Assad’s autocratic rule began as a
peaceful pro-democracy movement in March 2011 but in the face of
a crackdown by his forces has turned into an armed insurgency.
“There has been a dangerous escalation of armed violence
across Syria,” said Sausan Ghosheh, spokeswoman for the U.N.
monitors observing the now-collapsed ceasefire.
“They (residents) want the violence to stop and so do we, but
the U.N. Supervision Mission cannot impose a ceasefire. The path
of non-violence is a choice for the welfare of all Syrians.”
The United Nations says more than 10,000 people have been
killed by government forces, while Syria says at least 2,600
members of the military and security forces have been killed by
what it calls foreign-backed “Islamist terrorists”.
World powers are divided over the next move.
Russia and China, both permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council with veto power, have blocked efforts by
Western powers to condemn Assad or call for his removal.
Diplomats said world powers were working towards holding a
crisis meeting on Syria in Geneva on June 30 to try to get the
Annan plan back on track.
IRAN THE STICKING POINT
Annan, who represents the United Nations and the Arab League
mediator, has called for a Contact Group to be convened as soon
as possible, but the United States is opposed to the involvement
of Iran, Syria’s main ally in the region.
Two diplomats told Reuters they were hoping to have a
meeting on the 30th, but a third said Iran’s participation was
still a sticking point.
Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said the envoy was having
urgent meetings to reach consesus on the shape and formula for
the meeting. If one was held, it would aim to “give teeth” to
the Annan plan, not to create a new one, he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday
that Washington had information Russia was in the process of
supplying Syria with helicopters,which have been used in
government assaults on towns and cities.
Syria’s ambassador to Moscow told Reuters on Thursday that
Russia was “not delivering any helicopters to Syria”.
(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans in Beirut, Khaled Yacoub
Oweis in Amman, Chris Buckley in Beijing, Nastassia
Astrasheuskaya and Thomas Grove in Moscow, Stephanie Nebehay in
Geneva; Writing by Oliver Holmes)
