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DARAA, Syria – A roadside bomb struck a Syrian military truck Wednesday, woundingsix soldiers just seconds after a convoy carrying the head of theU.N. observer mission passed by. An Associated Press reporter who was traveling in the U.N. convoysaid the blast blew out the military truck's windows and caused aplume of black smoke. The U.N. convoy was not hit. The attack was "a graphic experience that the Syrian people livewith every day," the head of the U.N. observer mission, Maj. Gen.Robert Mood, told reporters. He said the observers' work willcontinue as usual. The blast went off after Mood headed into this southern city, thebirthplace of the Syrian uprising, with a convoy of observers andjournalists. The explosion was more than 100 meters (330 feet)behind the convoy. "We were driving behind the U.N. convoy as protection when aroadside bomb exploded, wounding a 1st Lieutenant and five troops,"a soldier who asked to be identified only by his first name, Yahya,told The Associated Press at the scene. At least three bloodied soldiers were rushed away. It's not clear who was behind the blast. But Syria's rebel leader, Col. Riad al-Assad, threatened to resumeattacks because the government has not honored a cease-fire, theLondon-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Wednesday. Al-Assadtold the paper that "our people are demanding that we defend them." The comments were published in Wednesday's edition of the paper andcould deal yet another blow to a peace plan brokered by specialenvoy Kofi Annan. On Tuesday, Annan gave a bleak assessment of the crisis in Syria,saying violence remains at "unacceptable levels" and warning thathis peace plan is the country's last chance to avert a disastrouscivil war. Annan insisted there is still hope and said the presence of U.N.observers has had a calming effect on the crisis, which has killedat least 9,000 people since March 2011. "There is a profound concern that the country could otherwisedescend into full civil war and the implications of that arefrightening," Annan told reporters in Geneva after briefing aclosed-door session of the U.N. Security Council in New York byvideoconference. The observer mission, he said, "is the onlyremaining chance to stabilize the country." Syria has become one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Arab Spring,and world powers have been unable to stop the violence. SyrianPresident Bashar Assad still has a firm grip on power, and hisregime portrays his opponents as terrorists out to weaken thecountry. Although the death toll mounts daily, the U.N. has ruled out anymilitary intervention of the type that helped bring down Libya'sMoammar Gadhafi, in part out of fears that it could make theconflict worse. Syria is an important geopolitical linchpin with aweb of allegiances to powerful forces, including Lebanon'sHezbollah and close ally Iran. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Toy Crane Game Machine , Kids Arcade Rides Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Car Racing Arcade Machine.
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