Syrian authorities say withdrawal of troops has begun

UN-ARAB League envoy Kofi Annan yesterday told the General Assembly that the Syrian government had informed him of partial withdrawals from Daraa, Idlib and Zabadani.

He said, “More far-reaching action is immediately required” as Syrian troops continued operations in other areas.

Mr Annan said the government must complete its pull-out by April 10th and the opposition must stop the violence by 6am Damascus time on April 12th.

Both sides must “cease killing and start political dialogue”, he said, and political detainees could be freed within “a few week”.

Moscow has confirmed the withdrawals, while Mr Annan’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, said he was relying on “a range of sources” for verification.

“We are receiving positive signals from the opposition, that once the government abides by the April 10th deadline, they too will lay down their arms.”

Mr Fawzi revealed that UN member states were being asked to provide 200 to 250 troops for a ceasefire-monitoring mission to be deployed in Syria after April 10th.

An advance team is in Damascus to discuss a deployment that is due to be mandated by a Security Council resolution.

But loyalist Syrian newspaper Al Watan Daily quoted an unidentified official saying the government had not subscribed to any timeline.

“April 10th is the date set for the beginning, not the end, of the withdrawal of troops and it does not constitute a deadline,” he said, indicating that the government had interpreted its commitment differently from Mr Annan.

The UN Security Council issued a statement supporting Mr Annan’s efforts and demanding that the Syrian government “immediately and verifiably implement its commitments . . . to cease troop movements toward population centres, cease all use of heavy weapons . . . and begin pull-back of military concentrations in and around population centres ... by 10th April”.

Mr Annan’s statement coincided with a report by Al Jazeera that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are to provide $100 million a month to pay rebel fighters, encourage government troops to defect, and buy arms. US expert Joshua Landis said such funding could “wreak havoc.”

On the ground in Syria, the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights reported that fighting was intense in Douma; that clashes took place north of Aleppo, Syria’s largely quiet second city; and that five soldiers were killed in Idlib in the north and Daraa in the south.

Syrian Arab News Agency said the home of a government supporter had been blown up in the town of Barzeh near Damascus.

Some figures estimate that more than 1,600 Syrians have fled across the border into Turkey over the past 72 hours, boosting the number of refugees there to nearly 22,000, while the UN said 14,500 Syrians had taken refuge in Lebanon during the troubles.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that officials in Damascus had agreed to an expanded ICRC presence in the country, visits to Aleppo’s prison, and two-hour daily ceasefires in areas where it is necessary to evacuate wounded people and give aid.