WAR IN SYRIA:KOFI ANNAN acknowledged the hopelessness of his position as United Nations and Arab League mediator to Syria yesterday when he resigned the position as fighting in Damascus and Aleppo became ever-more intense.
There were unverifiable claims from the rebel side that regime forces killed at least 35 people, mainly unarmed civilians, on Wednesday in the Damascene suburb of Jdeidet.
“When the streets were clear we found the bodies of at least 35 men,” said a resident, who gave his name as Fares. “Almost all of them were executed with bullets to their face, head and neck, in homes, gardens and basements.”
But Syrian state television said “dozens of terrorists and mercenaries surrendered or were killed” when the army raided Jdeidet and surrounding farmlands.
In Aleppo, the country’s hotly contested second city and commercial capital, rebels turned the gun of a captured tank against government forces, shelling a military airbase used by war planes.
About 60 people were killed in various parts of the country yesterday, 43 of them civilians, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Mr Annan’s resignation was conveyed to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. “Kofi Annan deserves our profound admiration for the selfless way in which he has put his formidable skills and prestige to this most difficult and potentially thankless of assignments,” said Mr Ban.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Mr Annan cited “finger-pointing and name-calling” in the 15-nation UN Security Council as one of the reasons for his decision to step down.
Russian president Vladimir Putin who was in London and met British prime minister David Cameron said he regretted that Mr Annan was leaving his role as international peace envoy and called the situation in Syria “a tragedy”.
“Kofi Annan is a very respectable person, a brilliant diplomat and a very decent man, so it’s really a shame, Mr Putin said, according to Interfax.
“But I hope that the international community’s efforts aimed at ending the violence will continue.”
Mr Cameron also expressed his disappointment.
“What we need to do is actually ramp things up,” he said.
“We need to pass resolutions at the United Nations to put further pressure on Syria.
“I want to see them under so-called chapter VII [of the UN charter], so they have full legal backing of the UN – sanctions, travel bans, asset freezes, all the steps we can take to add to the pressure on the Syrians, and also a very clear warning to them that if they use chemical or biological weapons there will be the most severe consequences to them of all.”
It was being reported by medical sources last night that at least 20 people had been killed when Syrian security forces fired three mortar rounds at a Palestinian camp in Damascus.
Witnesses in the camp told Reuters by telephone that the mortars hit a busy street as people were preparing for the Ramadan meal to break their fasting.
– (Reuters)