Monday, April 30, 2012

Syria U.N. mission chief calls for unity

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U.N. response in Syria mocked
  • Opposition: One person is killed in Homs province as fresh violence erupts in Damascus on Monday
  • Syrian state TV alleges an attack on a police car and Syria's Central Bank
  • An opposition group accuses government forces of "fabricating staged explosions"
  • "Even 1,000 unarmed observers cannot solve all the problems," the U.N. observer head says

(CNN) -- The U.N. observer mission in Syria forged ahead Monday, even after the mission's leader admitted the group's efforts are futile unless all factions commit to full candor and peace.

"Ten unarmed observers, 30 unarmed observers, 300 unarmed observers, even 1,000 unarmed observers cannot solve all the problems," Maj. Gen. Robert Mood told reporters in Damascus on Sunday, shortly after arriving in the besieged country. "So I call on everyone to help us and cooperate with us in this very challenging task ahead of us."

But his words apparently had no affect in stopping the violence, which continued unabated despite the Syria's acceptance of a U.N.-backed peace plan.

Random gunfire from the Syrian army killed one person Monday morning in the Homs province town of Talbiseh, said the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists.

And gunfire and explosions echoed through Damascus early Monday, opposition activists said, a day after the Syrian regime and opposition members traded blame for recent attacks in the capital.

Syrian state-run media showed images Monday of a damaged police car in Damascus and a pillar with a missing chunk of concrete outside the Central Bank of Syria building.

Both were attacked by an "armed terrorist group" using rocket-propelled grenades, state TV reported, adding that four police officers were wounded in the first attack and no casualties were reported from the bank attack.

But the LCC said the regime's security apparatus "has resorted to fabricating staged explosions that have taken the lives of dozens of Syrians." The LCC cited "suspicious explosions in or near several government buildings, including the official state media and television office; a security center in Rukneddine; and the Central Bank building."

The group said it "holds the regime and its security apparatus fully responsible for the bombings and the resultant effects."

"These tricks no longer fool anyone, especially given the fact that the regime has resorted to these escalations every time there is political movement at the Arab, regional or international level to find a political solution to the crisis in which the regime kills its people who are demanding freedom," the LCC said.

At least 29 people were reported dead across Syria on Sunday, including a child and three defected soldiers, opposition activists said.

In Idlib province, security forces executed a recruit named Ahmad Abdullah Halli because he refused to open fire on civilians, the LCC said. In addition, the bodies of a father and son were found in a house in the western city of Homs, days after a massacre in the city, the group said.

Both the Syrian regime and the rebel Free Syrian Army have accepted a peace plan laid out by U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. A key element of the plan is a cease-fire by all parties.

"To achieve the success of Kofi Annan's six-point plan ... I call on all to stop the violence and to help us on a continued cessation of violence in all its forms," said Mood, the head of the U.N. observer mission.

A few dozen monitors are expected on the ground by Monday, with up to 300 expected in the coming month. The United States is not providing monitors but is helping with funding and logistics.

"This is a matter of utmost urgency for the United Nations, and all efforts are in place to make sure that we get the people on the ground as quickly as possible," Neeraj Singh, the observer team's spokesman, said Sunday. "... Apart from Damascus, we have permanently based observers in Homs, Hama, Daraa and Idlib, so this process will continue."

Opposition activists in Homs, a bastion of anti-government sentiment, have said attacks by al-Assad's forces only stop when U.N. monitors visit.

"We were able to get the civilians' corpses out of the streets because of the help and presence of the U.N. monitors," one man says in a video purportedly shot Saturday on the streets of Homs. "The corpses were dumped on the ground for over 40 days, and we couldn't get to them because of Assad's thugs and snipers. The bodies are decomposed, so we had to wear muzzles because of the foul smell so we can get to them and bury them. Just look the destruction that happened here in Homs because of Assad."

CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Since the cease-fire deadline passed April 12, more than 700 people have been killed, the LCC said.

Syria has been engulfed in violence since March 2011, when government forces started cracking down on demonstrators who were peacefully protesting al-Assad's regime. The president's family has ruled Syria for 42 years. Some opposition members have since taken up arms against the regime forces.

The United Nations estimates at least 9,000 people have died in the conflict, while opposition groups put the death toll at more than 11,000.

CNN cannot independently verify reports of violence and deaths within Syria, as the government has restricted access by most of the international media.

CNN's Saad Abedine, Yousuf Basil and Holly Yan contributed to this report.

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