UN endorses plan to halt Syrian conflict
UNITED NATIONS ( AFP) — The UN Security Council yesterday awaited Syria’s response to its demand for the “immediate” implementation of a plan by special envoy Kofi Annan to rein in the government’s bloody crackdown.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he hoped Wednesday’s rare show of unity by the 15-member council – including Russia and China – would mark a “turning point” in the crisis, in which more than 8,000 people have been killed.
“I hope that this strong and united action by the council will mark a turning point in the international community’s response to the crisis,” Ban said on a visit to Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Russia and China, which have blocked two resolutions on Syria, backed a Western-drafted statement that called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to work toward a cessation of hostilities and a democratic transition.
The council also gave a veiled warning of future international action.
But as the statement was read out on Wednesday, shells from Syrian troops rained down on the Homs district of Khaldiyeh in the latest bombardment of a bloody year-long campaign against activists inspired by the Arab Spring.
At least 22 people have been killed in two days of bombardments in Homs, and another 23 died elsewhere in the country on Wednesday alone, activists said.
Thirty-nine bodies were found in the Rifai sector of Homs, activists said, adding that they had probably been killed at the same time as 48 women and children whose mutilated corpses were found on March 12.
There were also fierce clashes between rebels and security forces near an intelligence post in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Security Council statement, which carries less weight than a formal resolution, gives strong backing to a six-point plan that Annan, the Un-arab League envoy, put to Assad during talks in Damascus this month.
The statement called on Assad and the opposition to work with Annan “towards a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis and to implement fully and immediately his initial six-point proposal.”
It said Annan should regularly update the council on his efforts, adding, “In the light of these reports, the Security Council will consider further steps as appropriate.”