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    March 29, 2012

Syrian Violence Kills 22 as Arab Leaders Back Peace Plan

   Edward Yeranian | Cairo
   Arab leaders pose for a picture ahead of the opening session of the
   Arab League Summit in Baghdad, March 12, 2012.
   Photo: Reuters
   Arab leaders pose for a picture ahead of the opening session of the
   Arab League Summit in Baghdad, March 12, 2012.

   Violence across Syria killed at least 22 people - most of them
   civilians - as Arab leaders in Baghdad backed a peace plan during a
   summit focused on resolving the year-long Syrian crisis.
   Syrian rights activists say forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad
   killed at least 16 civilians in assaults on opposition hubs in central
   Syria and the northern province of Idlib on Thursday. The activists say
   rebels killed two soldiers in an ambush in Hama province. In other
   violence, Syrian state news agency SANA says "terrorists" shot and
   killed two army colonels in the city of Aleppo.

   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.Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elarabi, chairing
       his first regular Arab summit, emphasized the key issues facing the
       gathering.Elarabi went on to discuss tensions between Israel and
       the Palestinian Authority, and urged Arab states to meet their
       financial obligations to help the authority pay its bills.Several
       new faces addressed the summit following revolutions in Tunisia and
       Libya last year.

   Arab leaders and envoys discussed a response to the Syrian crisis at a
   Baghdad summit - the first to be held by the Arab League in the Iraqi
   capital since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. A rocket exploded near
   the fortified Green Zone where the summit was being held, but caused no
   casualties.
   Arab League members called on the Syrian government and opposition to
   implement the terms of a peace plan drafted by international envoy Kofi
   Annan. The plan urges both sides to start a cease-fire and a dialogue,
   but does not call for Assad to step down as part of a political
   transition.
   Arab leaders previously had urged the Syrian president to hand power to
   a deputy to manage the transition, but now they appear to have backed
   away from that demand.
   Assad said he will "spare no effort" to ensure the success of the Annan
   peace plan. In remarks published Thursday by SANA, the Syrian president
   promised to start a national dialogue "in a very short period." But he
   also said countries providing money and weapons to the Syrian
   opposition must stop immediately to enable Annan's mission to succeed.
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is "essential" for the
   Syrian president to put his commitments into immediate effect. Speaking
   to Arab leaders at the start of the Baghdad summit, Ban also accused
   the Syrian government of failing to fulfill its responsibility to
   protect its own people.
   Only nine leaders of the Arab League's 22 members traveled to Iraq for
   the summit. Assad was not invited. The absence of other leaders
   reflected ongoing divisions within the Arab League about how to end
   Syria's violence.
   Qatar and Saudi Arabia were among the nations that sent low-level
   envoys to the summit. Both have called for tougher action on Syria,
   including the arming of rebels trying to end Assad's 11-year autocratic
   rule. Iraq, the summit host, has criticized such proposals, fearing
   they would further destabilize Syria, a neighbor and trading partner.
   Iraqi President Jalal Talabani urged summit participants to respond to
   political upheavals in the Arab world by creating a "suitable
   atmosphere for dialogue so as to avoid violence, chaos and foreign
   intervention."
   Kuwait's emir was one of the nine visiting leaders. It is the first
   time a Kuwaiti head of state has traveled to Iraq since the 1990
   invasion by the forces of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
   Iraqi authorities sharply increased security for the summit, hoping to
   show neighboring states that Iraq can maintain stability following the
   withdrawal of U.S. forces last December.
   Meanwhile, Britain announced that it will provide $800,000 million in
   non-lethal support to anti-Assad activists inside Syria to help them
   document government rights violations and develop skills to build a
   democratic post-Assad society.
   The United Nations says violence linked to Syria's crackdown on the
   revolt has killed more than 9,000 people.

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