|
The EU, meanwhile, slapped fresh sanctions on Damascus, whileRussia said it was "absolutely clear" Al-Qaeda was behind lastweek's twin bomb attacks in Damascus that killed 55 people andvowed to continue to arm the regime. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three troop carrierswere destroyed in clashes that erupted at dawn on the outskirts ofRastan, a rebel-held city in restive Homs province of centralSyria. At least 23 soldiers were killed in the Rastan clashes, it said. Four rebel fighters, among them a lieutenant who defected, alsodied in the fighting as well as two civilians, and regime gunfirereportedly left three civilians dead in the nearby city of Homs. Regime forces launched an offensive on Rastan at the weekend,encountering heavy resistance from rebels seeking the ouster ofPresident Bashar al-Assad's regime. "The regime forces in the course of two hours fired 300 rockets atRastan before launching their assault," Sami Kurdi, a spokesman forthe rebel Free Syrian Army, told AFP from Rastan. The Observatory also reported deadly violence elsewhere on Monday,putting the total daily toll of at least 37. The bloodshed comes despite a month-old ceasefire brokered byUN-Arab League envoy Annan as part of a plan aimed at endingviolence that has swept Syria since March 2011 when a popularrevolt erupted against Assad's regime. Part of the plan includes the deployment in flashpoint areas ofaround 300 UN military observers. By Sunday, 189 observers were onthe ground, the UN mission in Syria said. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister warned Monday thatconfidence in Annan's peace mission was fading fast because of therelentless bloodshed. "Confidence in the efforts of the international envoy is fallingrapidly because fighting and bloodshed continue," Prince Saudal-Faisal told reporters after Riyadh hosted a summit of Arableaders of the Gulf. More than 12,000 people, the majority of them civilians, have diedsince the Syrian uprising began, according to the Observatory,including more than 900 killed since the April 12 truce. On the diplomatic front, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brusselsslapped a 15th round of sanctions on Syria. The new European Union sanctions, to take effect on Tuesday, mean128 people and 43 firms or utilities are now targeted by an assetsfreeze and travel ban for backing the regime's 14-month campaign ofrelentless repression. "The continuing violence is appalling," said EU foreign policychief Catherine Ashton. "As long as the repression continues, wewill continue to put pressure on those responsible for it." Ashton said the bloc at the weekend delivered a fleet of 25armoured vehicles to help Annan's observer mission, deployed underhis peace plan which the EU sees as the only possible way to avoidall-out civil war in Syria. Syria-linked violence has also spilled across the border intoLebanon, with eight people killed since Saturday in sectarianclashes in the northern port city of Tripoli, according to Lebanesesecurity officials. Lebanese army troops were deployed late on Monday in hotspots,ordering gunmen off the streets. In some of the worst violence seen in Syria since the conflicterupted 14 months ago, twin suicide bombings in Damascus lastThursday killed 55 people and wounded 372. Russia's foreign ministry pointed the finger of blame squarely atIslamist extremists, despite claims by the Syrian opposition thatAssad's government carried out the devastating attacks. "For us it is absolutely clear that terrorist groups are behindthis -- Al-Qaeda and those groups that work with Al-Qaeda," DeputyForeign Minister Gennady Gatilov told reporters. He added that the "massive" military support for the rebelsrequired Russia not to leave its traditional ally defenceless andto continue supplying Assad's army with certain "defensive" arms. Al-Nusra Front, an Islamist group unknown before the Syrian revolt,released a video on Saturday claiming responsibility for theDamascus attacks. Russia also warned Kosovo against allowing the training of Syrianopposition rebels on its territory, with its UN envoy VitalyChurkin saying it could cause international friction. In Cairo, the Arab League announced the postponement of a plannedmeeting of the Syrian opposition, initially due to take place onWednesday and Thursday in the Egyptian capital. In a statement, the Arab organisation said it had taken thedecision, with no new date proposed, in response to a request fromthe opposition umbrella Syrian National Council and the NationalCoordination Council, the other main opposition faction. I am an expert from stainless-steelsheets.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Hot Rolled Steel Coils Manufacturer , Austenitic Stainless Steel Manufacturer, Cold Rolled Steel Coils,and more.
Related Articles -
Hot Rolled Steel Coils Manufacturer, Austenitic Stainless Steel Manufacturer,
|
