Syria: EU Calls For Early Appointment Of Successor To Annan

The European Union has called for early appointment of a successor to U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan to carry on his work towards a peaceful political transition in Syria.

"The Six Point Plan remains the best hope for the people of Syria, and any further militarization of the conflict by any of the parties can only bring greater suffering to Syria, its citizens, and the region as a whole," EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement issued on Friday in the wake of Annan's resignation the day before.

Expressing "deep regret" at his quitting, Ashton said she backed Annan's tireless efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis. He has invested an enormous amount of time and personal dedication to his difficult and dangerous assignment, she added.

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Russia: West inviting civil war in Syria says Lavrov

Announcing that it is not taking sides in the Syrian crisis, Russia is calling for an immediate ceasefire in order to let the Annan Plan bring about the necessary conditions for lasting peace.

Dismissing Western criticism of Russia’s adherence to the Annan Plan, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s call for both sides in the 16-month conflict to lay down their arms and enter into peace talks. "In order to halt the violence, both sides in the conflict must be forced simultaneously to cease hostilities, synchronize withdrawal of heavy weaponry from cities and place all armed people under the UN mission's control," Lavrov told a press conference on Monday.

Russia’s staunch defense of the Annan Plan was given a boost as Kofi Annan, UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, began a two-day visit to the Russian capital. During the talks, Moscow will also be negotiating vigorously for an extension of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria.

Read more: West inviting civil war in Syria - Lavrov — RT

Syrian troops attack Damascus suburb despite UN truce monitors

Syrian troops stormed and shelled districts in a suburb of the capital Damascus Sunday, activists said, a day after the Security Council voted to expand the number of UN truce monitors from 30 to 300 in hopes of salvaging an international peace plan marred by continued fighting between the military and rebels.

An eight-member team is already on the ground in Syria, and since Thursday has visited flashpoints of the 13-month-long conflict. Fighting generally stops when the observers visit an area, but there has been a steady stream of reports of violence from towns and regions where they have not yet gone.

The cease-fire and observer mission are part of international envoy Kofi Annan’s plan for ending the violence in Syria and launching talks between President Bashar Assad and those trying to oust him. Syria’s opposition and its Western supporters suspect Assad is largely paying lip service to the cease-fire since full compliance could quickly sweep him from power.

For more: Syrian troops attack Damascus suburb despite UN truce monitors - Arab News

Syria truce mostly holds, but 6 killed in protests - by Elizabeth A. Kennedy and Zeina Karam

Syrian forces used live fire, tear gas and clubs to beat back tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets across the country Friday in powerful and often jubilant displays of defiance. But a U.N.-brokered truce largely held up without the widespread, bloody offensives that have pushed the nation toward civil war. 

Activists said security forces killed at least six people, a lower-than-usual toll. The rallies, described as some of the largest in months, stretched from the suburbs of Damascus to the central province of Hama, Idlib in the north and the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising began in March 2011.
"Come on, Bashar, leave!" the crowd shouted in Daraa, linking arms and stomping their feet to the beat of a drum in a traditional Arab folk dance, according to a video posted online by activists.

For more: Syria truce mostly holds, but 6 killed in protests - San Jose Mercury News

Syrian uprising hotspots calm after UN truce deadline

A fragile ceasefire brokered by the UN took hold in Syria on Thursday with regime forces apparently halting widespread attacks on the opposition but still defying demands by international envoy Kofi Annan to pull troops back to barracks.

If the truce holds, it would be the first time the regime has observed an internationally brokered cease-fire since Bashar Assad's regime launched a brutal crackdown 13 months ago on mass protests calling for his ouster. The opposition called for peaceful protests on Friday to test the government's commitment to the accord.

There was deep skepticism that the regime would halt its fire for long, given that Assad has broken promises in the past. Also, the regime said Wednesday, on the eve of the truce deadline, that it reserves the right to respond to any aggression, potentially a pretext for breaking the truce.

Annan's plan calls for the deployment of international observers and talks on a political transition once a truce is in place. The initiative has broad international support, including from Assad allies Russia, China and Iran, and is widely seen as the last chance for diplomacy to end the violence. The increasingly militarized uprising has been veering toward an armed insurgency.

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