Call for UN observers to deploy quickly

AS THE advance team of UN ceasefire observers established mission headquarters in Damascus yesterday, fierce clashes between government forces and gunmen were reported in the northern province of Idlib and troops were said to have shelled rebel-held neighbourhoods of Homs.

The deployment of monitors has become all the more urgent since violations continue and there are no neutral observers on the ground to report to UN. Even opposition activists have made contradictory reports on developments in Homs. Walid Fares said the rebel Free Syrian Army was not resisting attacks by the army while Tareq Badrakhan reported fighting between troops and rebels as well as constant shelling by the army. He urged the observers to deploy urgently.

The London-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported: “Government forces trying to take control of Homs neighbourhoods are poun- ding the districts of Khaldiyeh and Bayada with mortar fire.” Al-Jazeera said the army holds 70 per cent of Homs and intends to establish full control.

The domestic opposition Local Co-ordination Committees said there is “no ceasefire” and claimed that 27 people were killed yesterday, including a woman, a child and two defectors.

Six monitors under the command of Moroccan Colonel Ahmad Himmiche have been negotiating arrangements with foreign ministry officials ahead of the arrival of 25 observers due in coming days. They are set to observe and report to the UN on implementation by both the government and rebels of the ceasefire and on the withdrawal from urban areas of government troops, armour and heavy weapons demanded by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan in his six point peace plan.

Mr Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said: “The mission will start with setting up operating headquarters and reaching out to the Syrian government and opposition forces so that both sides understand the role of the UN obser- vers.”

Mr Fawzi observed that the mission, expected to be expanded to 250 once the ceasefire is strengthened, “will include civilians, political officers and human rights experts in order to observe the full implementation of the six point plan, which includes a lot more than the cessation of hostilities.”

A new mission chief is to be appointed by secretary-general Ban Ki-moon as Norwegian general Robert Mood, slated to head the team, has returned to Norway.

Mr Ban characterised the ceasefire as “very fragile. It is very important that the cessation of violence must continue. The Syrian authorities must exercise maximum restraint [and] the opposition forces should also fully co-operate.” He observed that the government is responsible for guaranteeing observers freedom of movement and access.

In Geneva, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, headed by Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro, acknowledged “a general reduction in levels of violence in some parts of the country [But said] it is seriously concerned over accounts of a number of incidents,” including the shelling of districts of Homs and the use of heavy weaponry as well as new arrests in Hama and Aleppo.

The commission also received reports of “human rights abuses committed by anti-government armed groups, before and after the ceasefire, including extra-judicial killings of soldiers captured during armed confrontations.”

The investigators report directly to UN Human Rights chief Navay Pillay who has been highly critical of the Syrian authorities and recommended referral to the International Criminal Court.