Damascus: Syria on Sunday warned that its forces will respond to “intensified” rebel attacks, even as U.N. military observers were headed for the unrest-hit country to monitor a shaky ceasefire, media reported on Sunday.
According to reports a Syrian military official said that armed terrorist groups had intensified their attacks in a hysterical way against the army, law enforcement forces, and civilians, in conjunction with the approval of the U.N. Security Council resolution to send monitors to Syria.
“(Security forces), based on their duty to protect civilians and the country, will stop terrorist groups from continuing their criminals acts and the killing of civilians,” the report added.
Meanwhile, Syrian government forces shelled the city of Homs on Sunday, resident opposition activists and a rights activist said, as a six-person advance party of U.N. observers was due to arrive in Syria to monitor a ceasefire meant to start four days ago.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon voiced concern on Sunday over the Syrian regime’s shelling of Homs and urged the government to do everything to maintain the ceasefire.
With a cease-fire barely holding and the deployment of unarmed foreign observers expected to ease but not end months of violence, world powers are still struggling to find a longer-term strategy for Syria.
In theory, the world’s most powerful countries, the government of President Bashar al-Assad and much of the Syrian opposition have all signed up to a multipoint plan formulated by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. But the reality remains much more complex.
While Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly said they want to avoid a Libya-style externally backed regime change, the United States, Britain and France still say they want Assad gone.
“The main focus at the moment is the… rapid deployment of monitors,,” said one Western official on condition of anonymity. “That’s a priority, but it’s not the only one… at the end of the day, do not see a future for Syria with Assad in charge. We are in this for the long haul.”
It is to be mentioned here that although western countries and Gulf countries have expressed their concerns regarding the success of peace plan backed by UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, but still pressurising Syria to implement the plan as two permanent members of security Council, China and Russia, were against any military solution of Syrian crisis.
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