U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan says the Syrian government must immediately implement a ceasefire and stop its attacks on opposition groups, as fresh clashes broke out across the country on Friday.
Annan's spokesperson Ahmad Fawzi told reporters in Geneva that the "deadline is now" for President Bashar al-Assad to implement the six-point peace plan drawn up by the former U.N. chief. He did not specify what action, if any, would be taken if Assad did not comply.
Kofi Annan's Six-Point Peace Plan
- A Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people.
- A U.N. supervised end to armed violence by all parties in Syria.
- Timely humanitarian assistance in all areas affected by fighting.
- Increasing the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained people.
- Ensuring freedom of movement for journalists.
- Respecting freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully.
Though Assad agreed to the peace plan on Tuesday, violence has continued on a daily basis. On Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA that government forces continued their assault on the flashpoint city of Homs, launching mortar rounds that killed at least two people. Fighting was also reported in the northern province of Idlib and outside the capital, Damascus.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is visiting the Saudi capital for talks aimed at raising pressure on Assad to stop his brutal crackdown on the year-long anti-government revolt.
During her two-day trip to Riyadh, Clinton will meet with Saudi King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, as well as attend a high-level meeting of regional Gulf diplomats.
Clinton will then travel to Turkey on Sunday for the second session of the so-called "Friends of Syria" meeting, which will be attended by dozens of nations who support Syrian rebel groups.
The meeting is expected to focus on how to ensure President Assad complies with the peace plan, which calls for a cease-fire, a daily two-hour humanitarian truce, and political dialogue to end the conflict.
Assad said Thursday he will "spare no effort" to ensure the success of the plan, but said it ultimately depends on whether armed groups stop their "terrorist actions." The U.S. has called the remarks "discouraging" and called on Assad to halt the violence immediately.
In his comments Friday, Annan's spokesperson also said the international peace envoy is working to convince the Syrian opposition to lay down its arms in compliance with the peace plan.
<!--IMAGE-RIGHT-->Arab leaders at a Baghdad summit on Thursday endorsed the Syria peace plan and called for its immediate and complete implementation.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Arab League summit it is "essential" for the Syrian president to put his commitments into immediate effect. He accused the Syrian government of failing to fulfill its responsibility to protect its own people.
The United Nations says violence linked to Syria's crackdown on the revolt has killed more than 9,000 people.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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