Syrian army attacks on rebels intensify ahead of truce date

Syrian troops launched a vicious assault on a Damascus suburb yesterday, with opposition forces calling it one of the most violent attacks around the capital since the troubles began.

In the suburb of Douma, activists said snipers on 20 buildings were firing at “anything that moved” and residents had endured eight hours of shelling. They said soldiers marched into a main square behind detainees used as human shields. The offensive tapered off by late afternoon, and an activist said five civilians were killed.

A team led by a Norwegian major general arrived in Damascus as the fighting continued to negotiate the possible deployment of a UN team that would monitor the ceasefire agreement between Syrian government troops and rebel forces. UN Arab League envoy Kofi Annan brokered the truce, which is supposed to take effect on Tuesday.

But the operation in Douma, along with other offensives around the country, bolstered the opposition’s claim that President Bashar al-Assad is only intensifying violence ahead of the deadline to start implementing the truce.

Activists say he wants to make gains on the ground before the ceasefire is supposed to take effect.

Mr Assad accepted Mr Annan’s ceasefire plan last week, but the violence has continued unabated and tanks, troops, checkpoints and snipers remain in all major flashpoint towns and cities.

French foreign minister Alain Juppé said he believes Mr Assad “is deceiving us” when he promises to abide by the peace plan.

Mr Annan said “alarming levels” of casualties are still being reported daily in Syria. He told the UN General Assembly in a briefing from Geneva that Syria has informed him of a partial withdrawal from three locations in Daraa, Idlib and Zabadani, though he said more far-reaching action is “urgently needed.”

Mohammed Fares, an activist in Zabadani, denied claims that troops withdrew and said the army is still in the town with checkpoints backed by tanks.

“Troops and tanks are in Zabadani and around it,” he said by telephone.

Other activists reported attacks on both Daraa and Idlib on Wednesday.

Activist groups reported around two dozen dead nationwide yesterday.

There are other signs as well that the government has no intention of abiding by the deal.

The pro-government daily Al Watan quoted an unnamed official saying the government is not bound by Tuesday’s deadline for a ceasefire because that day marks “the beginning of army units’ withdrawal and not the end. It is not a deadline by itself.”

In Geneva, Mr Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said both sides are expected to end the hostilities within 48 hours of the deadline.

“The clock starts ticking on the 10th for both sides to cease all forms of violence,” he said.

Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad said the government has not yet agreed on a timetable for work with the UN. “But we will discuss these issues in a democratic way because we do want to listen to them,” he said.