Syria fears grow as UN monitors arrive at Qubair

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has warned of the "spiralling" crisis Syrian troops on Friday shelled the rebel-held neighbourhood of Khaldiyeh in the central city of Homs, activists have said. The activists told AP the bombardment appears to be a preparation for the troops to storm the area, which has been in rebel hands for months.
Amateur videos posted online showed a small white plane, apparently a drone, flying over Homs.
Homs has been one of the hardest hit regions in Syria since the uprising against Assad’s regime began in March last year.
Opposition activist groups have reported fierce fighting in Deraa, in southern Syria, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said one person was killed by sniper fire in Busra al-Sham, in Deraa. It names him as Abdul Razzaq al-Zubi.
The Local Coordination Committees activist network (LCC) said two people were killed in the Deraa al-Balad neighbourhood of Deraa.
It said another man was killed by "toxic gas" in Busra al-Harir.
The LCC also reported shooting in Hassakeh, Deir al-Zor and Damascus suburbs, as well as shelling in Hiffeh, Latakia, and Homs (Khaldiyeh and al-Qusair).
Activsits said a car bomb  xploded in a suburb of Damascus on Friday, killing at least two security force personnel.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the blast in the suburb of Qudsiya targeted a bus transporting members of Syrian security forces, and was followed by heavy gunfire.
Protesters have apparently come out to demonstrate in Kafarzeita, Hama province, two days after six burned corpses were reportedly found there following the withdrawal of the army.
United Nations monitors in Syria on Friday arrived at the site of a massacre in the central province of Hama where close to 100 civilians were reportedly slain on Wednesday by militants loyal to President Assad.
The monitors were unable to visit the village of Mazraat al-Qubair on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in New York, said there were stopped at Syrian army checkpoints shot at by small arms.
International peace envoy Kofi Annan meanwhile told the UN Security Council the Syria crisis will "spiral out of control" if more pressure is not put on the regime, after UN monitors trying to visit the site of a new massacre were fired on.
The UN-Arab League envoy's warning came before talks Friday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and as her Syria frontman met Russian diplomats in a bid to persuade Moscow to back Assad's removal from power.
Fred Hof, held talks on Friday with Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Foreign Ministry said. Hof made no comment to reporters outside the ministry building.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the talks as “an exchange of opinions on ways to foster a peaceful resolution in Syria with an accent on mobilisation of international support in the interests of fulfillment of Annan’s plan by all sides.”
Annan renewed calls for the major powers to warn Assad of "clear consequences" if he does not comply with a six-point international peace plan, one diplomat inside a closed-door council briefing at the United Nations told AFP.
"The longer we wait, the darker the future looks for Syria," another diplomat quoted Annan as telling the council.
Annan called for "united" and "substantial" pressure on Assad. He said there must be "real results soon or the crisis will spiral out of control".
He spoke after shots were fired at a UN convoy of monitors which tried to get to the village of al-Qubair to investigate the slaughter of civilians there.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 55 people were killed in Wednesday's assault on al-Qubair, a small Sunni farming enclave surrounded by Alawite villages in the central province of Hama.
According to preliminary evidence, the Syrian army had surrounded the village, and militia had entered al-Qubair and killed civilians with "barbarity," UN chief Ban was quoted as telling the Security Council.
Damascus denied responsibility for the massacre and, as it has done repeatedly in the past, pointed the finger at "terrorists" backed by foreign forces.
"A terrorist group committed a heinous crime in the Hama region which claimed nine victims. The reports by the media are contributing to spilling the blood of Syrians," state media said.
After the UN meeting, Ban told reporters: "Syria can quickly go from a tipping point to a breaking point. The danger of a full-scale civil war is imminent and real, with catastrophic consequences for Syria and the region."
"The Syrian people are bleeding. They are angry. They want peace and dignity. Above all, they all want action," Ban said.
He had told the meeting that heavy weapons, armour-piercing bullets and surveillance drones have all been used against the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) to hamper its efforts to monitor the worsening conflict.
The tactics had been used to try to force the unarmed monitors to withdraw from areas where government forces have been accused of staging attacks, Ban was quoted as saying.
According to UN officials, UN vehicles are shot at almost every day in Syria, and at least two roadside bombs have also targeted UN convoys.
Ban praised the "brave" monitors but said the Security Council would have to consider whether the mission is "sustainable".
UN observers had seen Syrian military convoys approaching villages and tried to stop tank assaults against populated areas, but had been "ignored," Ban said.
The Security Council has passed two resolutions which approved the UN monitoring mission in Syria and condemned the violence there, but it is divided over how to increase pressure on the regime.
Russia, Syria's last major ally, and China have vetoed two council resolutions which only hinted at future sanctions. The United States and European nations want economic sanctions against Assad.
Annan said he was in discussions to set up an international contact group on the Syria crisis and that he hoped Iran would be part of the "solution."
But US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said Iran was a "spoiler" and "part of the problem in Syria."
"There is no question that it is actively engaged in supporting the government in perpetrating the violence on the ground," she told reporters.
"Iran has not demonstrated to date a readiness to contribute constructively to a peaceful political solution."
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions against Assad's regime, but backed Annan's blueprint to end a conflict in which the Observatory says more than 13,500 people have died since March 2011.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov vowed there would be no UN Security Council mandate for outside intervention in Syria, indicating Moscow would use its veto to block any military action.