Uneasy calm on Syrian streets after ceasefire
An uneasy calm prevailed in Syrian cities after a ceasefire proposed by UN envoy Kofi Annan came into force Thursday morning even as Western countries doubted President Bashar al-Assad's intentions to hold on to the truce plan.
According to opposition forces, Syrian troops and tanks were still in position inside many towns despite the plan asking for military withdrawal that was to begin Tuesday.
"An hour after the ultimatum expired, the situation is calm in all regions... (But) there has not been any movement indicating a withdrawal of tanks," said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
However, due to curbs on the media, the ground situation could not be verified independently.
The ceasefire however faces a test Friday when opposition leaders have called for demonstrations near army units that remain deployed.
Syria's interior ministry Thursday asked gunmen "who do not have blood on their hands" to turn themselves in to police, promising that they would be freed.
Syria has also committed to abide by the ceasefire but says it reserves the right to respond to attacks.
Annan had earlier received written assurances from the Syrian government that its troops would "cease all military fighting throughout Syrian territory as of 0600 hours (0300 GMT)... while reserving the right to respond proportionately to any attacks carried out by armed terrorist groups", his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi said.
The US says Assad's pledge appeared to have "little if any credibility".
US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have agreed that the UN Security Council needed to "take more resolute action" on Syria. The two leaders spoke over phone, according to the White House.
"The president and chancellor shared the concern that the Assad government was not complying with the terms of the agreement negotiated by Kofi Annan and continued to engage in unacceptable brutality against its own people," the White House said.
Government spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Assad was "fully committed" to the success of Annan's plan and, as there had been no attack on the troops, "there is no reason to break the ceasefire."
If the government doesn't hold on to the ceasefire, some members of the Security Council have threatened to push for tougher actions against the Assad regime that is alleged to have killed thousands of civilians since anti-government protests began in March 2011.
According to the UN, an estimated 9,000 people have died in the over last one year of uprising. In February, the Syrian government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces.
Source: Middle East News.Net
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