Syria reaffirms its commitment to Annan’s plan, says crisis shouldn’t be ‘escalated’

Syria’s ambassador to the U.N. told reporters on Wednesday that Damascus is committed to the U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan’s plan and that the international community shouldn’t escalate crisis in the country but must mitigate it.

Syria was widely condemned after a massacre in the central town of Al-Houla near Homs, which left more than 100 civilians killed on Friday and Saturday. Turkey and Japan on Wednesday joined the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Canada, Britain, Australia, France and Germany to expel Syrian envoys from their respective countries in protest against Houla massacre.

However, Syria’s U.N. envoy, Bashar Al-Jaafari, said that Damascus is undergoing an investigation to find out the culprits behind the massacre, blaming “outside forces” who are trying hard to ignite a civil war in the country as responsible. Jaafari said it was “irresponsible” to expel Syrian envoys.

He warned that Syria is facing the danger of militarized terrorism, and said that Lebanon has intercepted a ship loaded with weapons heading to the crisis-torn country.

He said that there is a legitimate opposition in the country and that Damascus has agreed to China’s and Russia’s plan to have a dialogue with the opposition, but the plan has failed due to outside forces’ pressuring on the opposition not to accept the dialogue request.

There were more than 4,000 violations by militant opposition groups that Damascus counted, the envoy said, thereby breaching Kofi Annan’s peace plan which stipulated for the government as well as the opposition to completely ceasefire.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice on Wednesday said that the worst and most likely scenario for Syria was that Annan’s peace plan to fail, spreading conflict and creating a major crisis across the region.

Rice said Wednesday after a closed-door briefing to the U.N. Security Council by one of Annan’s deputies, that Syrian government was unlikely to immediately implement the Annan plan.

If President Bashar al-Assad refuses to implement the peace plan, Rice said the U.N. Security Council should assume its responsibility and put additional pressure on Syria including sanctions. But Rice and other council diplomats said there is opposition from some members.

Rebels give Assad ultimatum

Syrian rebels on Wednesday gave President al-Assad a 48-hour deadline to abide by an international peace plan to end violence or face consequences, a rebel spokesman said.

“The joint leadership of the Free Army inside Syria announces that it is giving the regime a final 48 hour deadline to implement the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council,” Colonel Qassim Saadeddine said in a statement posted on YouTube.

“It ends on Friday at 1200 (0900 GMT) then we are free from any commitment and we will defend and protect the civilians, their villages and their cities.”

Continuous violence

Syrian forces launched a fresh assault on Wednesday on the site of Houla massacre, forcing villagers to flee heavy shelling in fear of more carnage, a watchdog and the opposition said.

Machinegun fire was followed in the afternoon by shelling that targeted the village of Taldu, near Houla.

“People are fleeing Taldu to other parts of Houla,” the Britain-based Observatory’s Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. “They are very afraid.”

Smoke was seen billowing above both Taldu village and the town of Houla as residents escaped to other towns in the region “for fear of a new massacre,” the watchdog reported.

The Syrian opposition called for U.N. observers to rush to the area to protect residents.

“The murderous regime is currently carrying out bombing of Houla... using tanks and shells,” said the Syrian National Council, the main opposition coalition.

“The Council calls on U.N. observers to travel quickly to Houla and put pressure on the regime to stop the bombing and protect civilians who are still there,” a statement said.

The U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous has said there was a “strong suspicion that the shabiha were involved in this tragedy in Houla,” referring to a militia loyal to Assad’s regime.

The U.N. Security Council -- including Assad’s veto-wielding allies China and Russia -- on Saturday condemned the Syrian government for using artillery in the Houla massacre.

The Syrian Revolution Council reported on Wednesday that at least 41 people were killed by the Syrian security forces’ gunfire across the country.