Syria agrees to deadline for peace plan – Annan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria has agreed to a deadline for a peace plan proposed by special United Nations envoy Kofi Annan, and says it will withdraw its forces from cities by this time next week, ABC reported.

The six-point peace plan calls for a ceasefire, with the withdrawal of soldiers and heavy weapons from cities and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Mr Annan told the Security Council in a behind doors meeting overnight that Syria has accepted the plan and will withdraw government forces by next Tuesday, April 10.

But the news has immediately been met with scepticism. There are no pre-conditions attached to the deal and the Syrian regime has made it clear it will not stop the violence unless the armed opposition lays down its weapons as well.

Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, insists the April 10 deadline will only work if the rebel forces also pull back.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is also doubtful a deadline will work without opposition support. "Ultimatums and artificial deadlines rarely help the matter," he said. "Of course we all want a swift stop to the bloodshed, but these demands need to be addressed to everyone who is fighting in Syria."

The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, is not convinced by Syria's commitment, noting the regime's record on its promises.

So far there is no sign the Assad government's word is its bond. Overnight, fresh violence erupted in the cities of Homs and Idlib. Opposition groups say troops backed by tanks are hunting down activists and torching and bulldozing houses. And the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights says the death toll from more than a year of fighting has now passed 10,000.