The agreement proposed by United Nations-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan says the Syrian authorities must be first to withdraw troops, and stop violence immediately.
The United States and its Gulf Arab allies urged Annan yesterday to set a timeline for “next steps” if the bloodshed persists. Saudi Arabia repeated a call for rebels to be armed.
Annan has said neither measure would be helpful. The former UN chief’s mission has brought no respite in the killings.
Opposition activists reported 21 people killed and five bodies found bearing signs of torture, including two children.
A protest singer in Kafr Ruma was killed when his house was raided. A young man and his sister were shot dead when state forces stormed their village, and a man died of gunshot wounds inflicted during a protest in Damascus.
Army artillery and mortars pummeled the Khalidiya district of Homs city, killing one. Six deaths were reported in Homs province, two killed by snipers and two in crossfire.
“Mortars are falling every minute and the sounds of explosions are shaking the (Khalidiya) neighbourhood,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A child was killed by rocket fire in the al-Bayyada area of Homs and a man was killed in crossfire in clashes near a checkpoint.
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In southern Deraa province, five were killed by machinegun fire in Kharbat Ghazaleh and three died from wounds sustained in clashes on Friday. Rebels killed six soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel in Deir al-Zor, the Observatory said.—Reuters.
