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                    Syrian Rebels Set Friday Truce Deadline

   by Michael Lipin

   A Syrian rebel commander says his forces will abandon a cease-fire
   agreement with the government on Friday if President Bashar al-Assad
   fails to abide by the truce and other terms of a U.N.-backed peace
   plan.
   In an Internet statement published Thursday, Free Syrian Army Colonel
   Qassim Saadeddine gave Assad a deadline of noon Friday local time to
   start acting on commitments made to international peace envoy Kofi
   Annan. The rebel commander said his forces would no longer be bound by
   the Annan peace plan if the Syrian president fails to comply.
   The FSA is a loosely-organized and lightly-armed rebel group comprised
   largely of Syrian military defectors. It has been leading a 15-month
   long uprising to end Assad's 11-year rule. The Syrian government and
   the rebels agreed to a truce mediated by Annan last month, but the
   fighting has continued, with each side accusing the other of violating
   the deal.
   U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said if Annan's plan
   continues to falter or collapse, the international community must
   consider new ways to pressure Assad, such as imposing sanctions and
   taking "actions outside of ... the authority" of the U.N. Security
   Council.
   Rice was speaking Wednesday after she and other Council representatives
   received a briefing on the Syrian crisis from Annan's deputy Jean-Marie
   Guehenno and U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous. Diplomats said the
   briefings included details of recent atrocities against Syrian
   civilians and described the mood as grim.
   Guehenno, who spoke to the Council from Geneva, later told reporters
   that the Security Council needs to have a "strategic discussion" on how
   to prevent Syria from sliding into a "catastrophic" full-scale civil
   war. He also urged the Council to be united in pushing for a "political
   process" to resolve the Syrian conflict.
   Russia has repeatedly blocked the Security Council from taking punitive
   action against the Assad government, a longtime Russian ally. Russian
   presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow rejects
   changing its policy under foreign pressure.
   White House spokesman Jay Carney said supporting the Assad government
   is equivalent to placing one's nation "on the wrong side of history."
   He said the Syrian president "will be remembered forever for what he
   did this past weekend and what he has done for the past 15 months."
   U.N. human rights experts say Syrian troops and pro-government
   militiamen appear to be largely responsible for the massacre of 108
   civilians in the rebellious central town of Houla last Friday. U.N.
   observers who went to Houla verified the casualties, found evidence of
   artillery and tank fire against the town, and heard witness testimony
   of executions by the militiamen, known as shabiha. The Syrian
   government denies any role in the massacre.
   In the latest atrocity, U.N. observers found 13 bodies with their hands
   tied behind their backs in the northeastern province of Deir el-Zour
   late Tuesday. Amateur video of the corpses was posted on the Internet.
   A statement by the U.N. mission said some of the dead appeared to have
   been shot in the head from close range. U.N. observer chief Robert Mood
   said he is "deeply disturbed by this appalling and inexcusable act."
   Guehenno said Annan wants the Syrian government to make "concrete
   gestures" for peace, including a cessation of violence by government
   forces, the release of detainees and allowing humanitarian access to
   civilians affected by the conflict. In a message to the rebels, the
   deputy peace envoy also said "all Syrians" must realize that the only
   way to resolve the crisis is through political negotiations, not guns.
   The White House said U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the Syrian
   crisis in a video conference with French President Francois Hollande,
   German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti
   on Wednesday. It said the four leaders "shared their perspectives on
   the importance of ending the violence of the (Syrian) government
   against its own people and the urgency of achieving a political
   transition."
   Rights groups estimate that about 13,000 people have been killed in
   Assad's violent crackdown on the uprising that began in March 2011. The
   Syrian government blames the revolt on foreign-backed armed terrorists
   whom it says have killed thousands of security personnel.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-rebels-set-friday-truce-deadline/1145524.html