Cease The Fire With Fire

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Annan says Syria has accepted his plan to end violence

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 10:41 AM EDT, Tue March 27, 2012


(CNN) -- The Syrian government has accepted U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's plan to forge peace and end violence in the volatile nation, Annan's spokesman said Tuesday.

Annan is urging the Syrian government "to put its commitments into immediate effect." Annan's six-point plan was the cornerstone of a presidential statement endorsed last week by the U.N. Security Council.

"Mr. Annan views this as an important initial step," spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said. But Fawzi also stressed that "implementation will be key, not only for the Syrian people, who are caught in the middle of this tragedy, but also for the region and the international community as a whole."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime previously committed to end the violence in the past year but the crackdown has continued.

"As the Syrian government acts on its commitments, Mr. Annan will move urgently to work with all parties to secure implementation of the plan at all levels," Fawzi said.

The plan calls for:

• "An inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syria people."

• A commitment "to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians and stabilize the country."

• Ensuring the "timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting ..."

• Intensifying "the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons," including people who have been "involved in peaceful political activities."

• Ensuring "freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a nondiscriminatory visa policy for them."

• Respecting "freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed."

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Annan, a former U.N. secretary-general, arrived in China Tuesday to rally support for the plan. His visit comes after a stop in Russia. Both countries have stymied U.N. Security Council attempts to take tough action again the Syrian regime.

During his two-day trip to China, Annan will meet with Foreign Ministry officials, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China supports Annan's mediation efforts and hopes to discuss political solutions for the Syrian crisis, according to Xinhua.

"We've had a very good discussion about the situation in Syria. They have offered me their full support," Annan said.

Both China and Russia have said they want the violence to stop but argue that draft resolutions by Security Council peers were not evenhanded. Both countries have major trade ties with Syria, but have said they are not trying to protect a regime.

Annan has said the ongoing crisis in Syria cannot not be allowed to "drag on indefinitely," but resisted setting any sort of timetable.

Who would take over after al-Assad?

Many world powers want al-Assad to step down.

But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said removing the president won't provide a quick solution, according to state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

"The internal conflict currently tearing Syrian society apart will not disappear with the departure of one or another political figure," said Medvedev, who is attending the nuclear summit in Seoul. "To consider that Assad's departure would solve all the problems would be very nearsighted."

Medvedev also said Annan's mission could be a last chance to avert a "prolonged and bloody civil war," the RIA Novosti report said.

Russia has vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions on Syria, but has given full backing to Annan's mission. And in an apparent hardening of Russia's position on Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Assad had handled initial peaceful protests "incorrectly."

Syria: How a year of horror unfolded

Violence has raged in Syria since last March, when the government launched a fierce crackdown against protesters. The United Nations estimates the Syrian conflict has killed more than 8,000 people; opposition activists put the toll at more than 10,000.

At least 53 more people were killed Tuesday, opposition activists said.

The deaths took place in Hama, Homs, Idlib, the Damascus suburbs and Deir Ezzor, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

Syrian State TV said al-Assad visiting the Homs' city neighborhood of Baba Amr Tuesday, an anti-government bastion pummeled by government security forces. News footage showed him speaking and waving to residents there and surveying damage. For weeks, activists have reported constant shelling in parts of the city -- attacks the government has attributed to terror groups.

Eleven of the the deaths in Syria Tuesday took place in Homs province, activists said.

There has been worldwide condemnation against al-Assad's regime, with countries speaking out or severing diplomatic channels inside Syria.

U.S., Turkish leaders discuss aiding opposition

A day after Turkey and Norway announced the closure of their embassies in Damascus, Turkish Airlines said Tuesday it has suspended ticket sales to Damascus and Aleppo as of April 1.

The Turkish government, which owns just under half of the company's shares, has used the airline as an extension of its foreign policy. It has extended airline routes to countries shortly after high-level diplomatic contacts and bilateral trade deals are announced. With Syria, this pairing of Turkish Airlines and government policy is working the other way around.

The Syrian government routinely blames the vaguely defined "armed terrorist groups" for violence in the country, while most reports from inside Syria suggest the government is slaughtering civilians in an attempt to wipe out dissidents.

CNN rejects Syrian claims of collaboration as 'ridiculous'


A photo from the Syrian opposition Local Coordination Committee is said to show a bombed oil pipeline in Homs, Feb. 15, 2012.

CNN cannot independently confirm reports from inside Syria because the government severely restricts access by international journalists.

Syrian authorities have banned men ages 18 to 42 from traveling abroad until they serve their compulsory military draft, a rebel army spokesman said Tuesday.

The ban "shows that the regime is preparing for the worst and they are suffering from heavy losses from our operations and the defections all across the nation," Lt. Riad Ahmed of the rebel Free Syrian Army said. "We keep asking our brothers in the armed forces to abandon the barracks and join the revolution all over Syria because it is a matter of time before the regime collapses."

Al-Assad's regime did not immediately issue a statement confirming or denying such a travel ban.

But the Syrian Revolution website posted a memo from Syrian Air saying all men ages 18 to 42 must check with the recruitment office and receive clearance before traveling.

CNN's Saad Abedine, Ivan Watson, Arwa Damon, Salma Abdelaziz and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.