Rebel-held areas of Homs shelled by Syrian forces

THE SYRIAN military reportedly shelled rebel-held neighbourhoods of Homs while rebels were said to have attacked a police station in Aleppo yesterday.

The incidents occurred as the vanguard of unarmed UN monitors was due to arrive in Damascus to rescue the faltering ceasefire.

This was the second consecutive day heavy weaponry was reportedly used by government troops in Homs since the ceasefire was brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Thursday. Rebel forces were said to have employed rocket-propelled grenades.

The army has halted attacks on most urban rebel strongholds, except in Homs where activists deny there has been a reduction of mortar strikes and tank shelling.

“What ceasefire?” demanded Yazan, an opposition activist based in Homs, observing that the city’s streets were strewn with rubble from blasted apartment blocks and bodies could be found in damaged vehicles.

The Britain-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported three fatalities in Homs and two in other locations, putting the day’s toll at five.

The anti-regime Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) said troops also shelled a contested village in Idlib province near the Turkish border where army defectors belonging to the Free Syrian Army operate. The LCC said seven were killed.

Opposition sources stated that 32 have been killed since the truce took effect.

Syria’s official news agency declared that since the ceasefire began “terrorist attacks have increased by dozens, causing a large loss of life”. Mr Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi announced that six observers will be “on the ground in blue helmets” today. The mission, headed by a Moroccan colonel, “will be quickly augmented by up to 25 to 30 from the region and elsewhere”.

The observers began their journey to Damascus once the UN Security Council had unanimously adopted a resolution authorising the deployment of the initial unit in a projected 250-300 member mission. The council “will adopt the next resolution authorising deployment of the full mission based on [the] report from the secretary general next week”, said Mr Fawzi.

The security council vote followed intensive negotiations between Russia and the draft’s sponsors, the US, France and Britain.

The text, amended at Moscow’s insistence, calls on the government and rebels to end human rights violations, demands the withdrawal of troops and tanks from cities and towns, and commands both sides to enter into dialogue over the country’s future governance.

The text warned Damascus that the security council would “assess the implementation of this resolution and consider further steps as appropriate”.

Russia and China vetoed two earlier resolutions, arguing that they condemned the government for its violent actions without reference to violence perpetrated by rebels.

Mr Annan expressed relief over the security council vote.

Syrian government spokeswoman Bouthaina Shaaban said that the government could not be held responsible for the safety of monitors unless they co-ordinate ground operations.

She also said Damascus had the right to reject monitors on the basis of their nationality.