Syrian regime committed a new massacre in the Karm al-Zaitoun and al-Adaweya Damascus – Agencies Scores of people have been killed on Sunday, including women and children, as the Syrian regime committed a new massacre in the Karm al-Zaitoun and al-Adaweya neighborhoods of Homs, according to activists of the Syrian Revolution Commission, as the peace envoy Kofi Annan left Syria empty-handed after failing to secure an accord to end Syria’s year-long bloodletting.
Homs massacre was carried out by the security forces and the regime’s ‘shabbiha’ (thugs), who killed the victims inside their homes, activists reported, pointing out that as many as 47 dead bodies have been found. The victims were killed by horrific methods; including burning, breaking their bones or slaughtering, according to activists.
Activists said several people were killed in the town of Idlib on Sunday after troops and tanks moved in a day earlier. A number of soldiers and civilians were also killed in fighting in the village of Janoudiya in Idlib province on Sunday morning, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Fierce fighting has been raging between deserters and regular army troops since (Sunday) morning in the Idlib province village of al- Janoudiya,” the head of the Observatory, Rami Abdul Rahman, told AFP in Beirut.
After seizing Idlib city on Saturday, troops fanned out into rural areas of the province on Sunday, notably the Jisr al-Shughur district, Abdul Rahman said.
“The army is also preparing to launch an offensive against the rebel district of Jabal al-Zawiya,” a range of hills close to the Turkish border, where fighters of the Free Syrian Army have been particularly active, he added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that some unknown armed men have assassinated the former Syrian International Boxer Mohamed Ghiath Tayfur, aged 43 years. They opened fire at his car at the Square of Aleppo University, while state news agency SANA said “terrorists” shot him dead.
Fighting also occurred on Sunday in the central city of Hama, the nearby province of Homs, and in the Damascus countryside, the Syrian Observatory said.
The UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan departed from Damascus at the end of a two-day mission during which he said he presented President Bashar al-Assad with “concrete proposals” to halt unrest monitors say has claimed more than 8,500 lives since March last year.
Annan on his first mission to Syria to attempt to secure a halt to the violence had emerged positive from talks on Sunday with Assad, a follow-up to their first meeting the previous day.
“It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be difficult, but we have to have hope. I am optimistic,” Annan told reporters, while stressing the urgency of finding a solution.
“The situation is so bad and so dangerous that all of us cannot afford to fail,” the former UN chief warned, in response to a suggestion that dialogue with the government was futile.
Assad had insisted during their first meeting on Saturday there would be no dialogue until the “terrorist groups” he claims are fomenting the violence are disbanded.
Opposition figures in their meeting with Annan however were adamant that the regime troops pressing the crackdown on dissent must first return to barracks before talks can begin.
Diplomats at the United Nations in New York had expressed pessimism about the prospects for Annan’s mission after troops poured into the northwestern city of Idlib late on Saturday just hours after his first meeting with Assad.
Annan told the media conference that he had on Sunday discussed with Assad ways to halt unrest in Syria.
“I presented a set of concrete proposals which would have a real impact on the situation on the ground and which will help launch a process aimed at putting an end to this crisis,” the former UN chief said.
“The realistic response is to embrace change and reforms,” he added.
The exiled opposition Syrian National Council ruled out talks while Assad is in power.
“Negotiations can never take place between the victim and torturer: Assad and his entourage must step down as a condition before starting any serious negotiations,” it said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Monday when the U.N. Security Council holds a special meeting on Arab revolts.
Russia, long an ally of Syria, and China have blocked attempts to pass a Security Council resolution condemning Damascus for its attempts to crush a year-old rebellion by force, in which thousands have died.
Moscow and Beijing want any international blame for the violence to be apportioned more evenly. China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said in Riyadh on Sunday both Syrian sides should stop fighting and aid should be sent to strife-torn areas -- but he also warned other states not to use aid to “interfere.”
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have taken a hawkish line against the Syrian government.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Sunday repeated calls for the Syrian opposition to be provided with weapons. This was the only way to end the conflict without foreign intervention, he said.
“The regime in Syria is committing a massacre of its own citizens,” he added, after talks with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Riyadh.
“We cannot accept the completely unreasonable continuation of the atrocities being perpetrated by the Assad regime against its own people,” Westerwelle said.
The United Nations says Assad’s forces have killed more than 7,500 people in their crackdown on protesters and insurgents. Authorities say rebels have killed 2,000 soldiers.
Ahead of a meeting on Monday that will bring together foreign ministers of the main Security Council member states, diplomats at the United Nations in New York expressed pessimism about the prospects for Annan’s peace mission.
“Kofi Annan’s meeting in Damascus seems to have gone nowhere,” said one senior envoy from a Security Council member.
“Assad is determined not to give in and the divide is growing between Russia and the Western countries,” the envoy said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
To the anger of Arab and Western governments, Syrian allies Russia and China have twice used their powers as permanent members of the Security Council to veto resolutions condemning Damascus.
Talks on a new US-led attempt to agree a resolution have hit a dead end, although US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on the sidelines of Monday’s meeting in New York.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is to brief Monday’s meeting, has bluntly accused Assad’s troops of using “disproportionate” force against what started out as peaceful demonstrations.