Syria’s army on Wednesday reportedly suffered its deadliest day in a ceasefire when rebel fighters killed 20 troops, in the latest violation of the three-week truce the UN says both sides are flouting.
The rebels killed 15 soldiers — including two colonels — in a dawn ambush in the northern province of Aleppo, where two rebel fighters also died, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The ambush occurred near Al-Rai village, after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had “scaled up military operations” there in the days since the truce took effect on April 12, said the watchdog. Clashes near Damascus killed six troops, while the army shelled and torched activists’ homes in eastern Deir Ezzor province and regime gunfire killed a civilian in southern Daraa, cradle of the 14-month uprising. The latest bloodshed comes a day after the United Nations accused both the regime and its opponents of violating the ceasefire that is part of a peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. The plan calls for a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire, media access to all areas affected by the fighting, an inclusive Syrian-led political process, a right to demonstrate and the release of detainees. According to the UN, more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since an anti-regime uprising broke out in March last year, while the Observatory puts the figure at more than 11,100. UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said Syrian troops have kept heavy weapons in cities, and that both the government and rebels have violated the truce. He also said UN members had so far only offered only 150 military observers for the 300-strong planned force and that Syria had refused visas for three proposed monitors.
But Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi denied visa requests had been turned down and said the two sides had agreed on the nationalities that could operate in the country. “We agreed with the UN negotiating team that nationalities of observers to be mutually agreed upon … So there is no refusal per se … There are far more than 110 nationalities that can easily work in Syria,” he told AFP.
