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    April 23, 2012

Activists: 9 Killed in Syria as UN Monitors Check Cease-fire

   VOA News
   A handout picture released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News
   Network shows Syrian residents talking to Moroccan UN observer, Colonel
   Ahmed Himmiche (R) during the monitors' visit to the Khalidiya district
   in the restive city of Homs, April 21, 2012. Photo: AFP
   A handout picture released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News
   Network shows Syrian residents talking to Moroccan UN observer, Colonel
   Ahmed Himmiche (R) during the monitors' visit to the Khalidiya district
   in the restive city of Homs, April 21, 2012.

   Kofi Annan's Six-Point Peace Plan
     * A Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and
       concerns of the Syrian people.
     * A U.N. supervised end to armed violence by all parties in Syria.
     * Timely humanitarian assistance in all areas affected by fighting.
     * Increasing the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained
       people.
     * Ensuring freedom of movement for journalists.
     * Respecting freedom of association and the right to demonstrate
       peacefully.

   Syrian activists say government forces killed at least nine people
   Monday in a flashpoint city, a day after international observers
   visited the region.
   Activists say Syria's military opened fire on civilians in the city of
   Hama's Arbaeen neighborhood. They say dozens of people were wounded by
   the assault.
   The latest deaths come as U.N. monitors are in the country to try to
   solidify a tenuous cease-fire that has failed to end 13 months of
   conflict.
   Neeraj Singh, a spokesman for the U.N.'s eight-member advance team in
   Syria, said the group will be joined by two additional observers.
   Observers were visiting a Damascus suburb on Monday.
   Meanwhile, the European Union is set to ban the sale to Syria of luxury
   goods and dual-use items that could be used for repression. Diplomatic
   sources said the restriction will be adopted at a meeting of EU foreign
   ministers in Luxembourg Monday.
   The extent of the luxury ban has yet to be defined but the aim is to
   deliver a symbolic blow against the posh lifestyle of Syrian President
   Bashar al-Assad and his British-born wife, Asma.
   The dual-use goods could include anything from vehicles to fertilizers
   and other chemicals.
   The United States announced Monday plans to impose technology sanctions
   on Syria and its ally, Iran.
   The United Nations is expected to send 30 unarmed observers to Syria in
   the coming days. This group could be followed by an expanded team of up
   to 300 monitors as part of a truce brokered by international envoy Kofi
   Annan.
   It will be up to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to determine whether the
   situation is safe enough to deploy the 300 observers for an initial
   90-day period.
   This would be the first time the U.N. has sent an unarmed mission into
   a conflict zone. Western diplomats warned the team will likely fail
   unless the Syrian government complies with the cease-fire.
   A spokeswoman for the exiled opposition Syrian National Council said
   Sunday the expanded observer mission is not enough to protect people
   from government attacks. Basma Kodmani called for at least 3,000
   monitors to be sent to Syria quickly.
   Attacks by Syrian government and rebel forces killed at least 17 people
   across the country Sunday, including five soldiers who died when a
   roadside bomb struck their armored personnel carrier.
   Two U.N. observers set up a base in the devastated flashpoint city of
   Homs Sunday after spending the night there. Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of
   the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the
   continued presence of observers in Homs is deterring attacks by
   government forces.
   The United Nations estimates that more than 9,000 people have been
   killed in the Syrian government's 13-month crackdown on dissent, while
   activist groups put the death toll at more than 11,000.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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