Meanwhile, the Syrian government made it crystal clear that it would not honor the agreement before the rebels hand over a written guarantee to put an end to fighting.
The Syrian government outlined the new conditions in a statement released Sunday. “To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, Kofi Annan having not yet presented written guarantees on the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence,” it said.
Syria seeks to obtain written guarantees from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar to pledge their intention not to fund the “terrorist” Syrian rebels.
On the other hand, Col. Riyadh Al-Asaad — the chief of the Syrian rebels — expressed his full cooperation with the United Nations.
“We are committed to the Annan plan… We will present our guarantees and our commitments to the international community, but not to this (Syrian) regime,” he said. The Syrian regime’s new demand came after a marked surge in bloodshed that the international community described as unacceptable.
One hundred and eighty people were killed over the weekend and 51 were killed on Sunday. The Syrian troops are exploiting every minute to crush the rebels ahead of today's deadline.
The Annan’s internationally backed plan for Syria is in a real jeopardy after fresh clashed raged yesterday. Annan called on Assad to respect his commitments on the troop pullout. “I remind the Syrian government of the need for full implementation of its commitments and stress that the present escalation of violence is unacceptable,” he said. Annan is very active these days trying to affect the desired outcome in Syria. He is expected to visit Turkey today and then to Iran.
Turkey has expressed its concern over the unwillingness of the Syrian regime to deescalate the crisis. As a result of the fresh deadly round of clashes more and more Syrian refugees cross the border with Turkey. The Turkish government called on the international community to take a firm position over this issue. Some military sources reported on Monday that Ankara would consider employing its armed forces to secure humanitarian corridors should the Syrian refugees exceed 50,000.
To avert an international reaction against Syria, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was scheduled to visit Russia, which along with China has blocked two UN Security Council draft resolutions condemning Syria for its brutal handling of the Syrian uprising.
Ironically, Russia is reconsidering its position and seems less keen to bet on the wrong horse. According to the Moscow Times, “After a year of iron support for its embattled Middle East ally, Russia’s recent criticism of President Bashar Assad suggests that Moscow could be planning for a future without the Arab strongman.”
While it is not yet clear if the Russian government, especially after the election of Vladimir Putin as president, will abandon Assad altogether, it is obvious that the Russian government is reconsidering its automatic support to the bloody regime in Damascus.
With the increase in the number of casualties caused by the Assad’s troops crackdown on rebels and protesters, Sergei Lavrov picked on Assad’s use of excessive force and unwillingness to affect reform.
“Russia has begun to understand that the Syria that was is already gone,” said Alexei Malashenko, a Middle East expert with the Moscow Carnegie Center.
Many observers make the case that the Syrian regime will not budge from its security approach. There are fears that the escalation may involve neighboring countries thus reshuffling the regional duck. Yesterday, the Syrian troops shoot at targets inside Turkey.
A Turkish translator and two refugees from Syria were wounded when the Gaziantep province came under fire from the Syrians. Clearly, the shooting indicated unprecedented escalation across the border with Turkey.
The recent tension on the Syrian-Turkish borders has to do with the rising numbers of Syrians fleeing into Turkey. The number of refugees in Turkey alone has exceeded 24,000, according to officials in Ankara. There is almost an international consensus that Assad regime is buying time and does not intend to honor any agreement as long as it does not allow his troops to crush the rebels once and for all.
He appears in self-denial as his troops will not be able to crush the rebels decisively. Assad is wasting yet another opportunity to settle the issue peacefully. Even his close allies advised him to heed the international community's effort to solve the problem. China just stepped in to advise Assad to respond positively to the will of the international community before it is too late.
“China urges the Syrian government and opposition groups to seize the current critical moment to abide by cease-fire and troop withdrawal promises, cooperate with special envoy Annan’s mediation efforts to alleviate the current tense situation and facilitate humanitarian assistance, and promote a political solution to the conflict in Syria,” said Liu Weimi, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
