News
Syria peace plan unravels; 15 killed in protests
Syria-new
A Syrian peace plan brokered by the Arab League has unravelled as security forces killed 15 people, opening fire on thousands of protesters who denounced President Bashar Assad and said he never intended to hold up his end of the deal to end the violence.
Friday's bloodshed, coming only two days after Syria agreed to the deal, suggests Damascus is unwilling — or unable — to put a swift end to a crackdown that already has killed 3,000 people since the uprising began in March.
"This regime is not serious about ending its brutal crackdown," said Mustafa Osso, a Syria-based human rights lawyer. "Today was a real test for the intentions of the regime and the answer is clear to everyone who wants to see."
Thousands of protesters braved cold and rainy weather on Friday after opposition groups called for a large turnout to test whether the regime would in fact refrain from using deadly force, as agreed under the Arab League plan. But gunfire erupted shortly after the protests began, following the same pattern seen during previous Friday protests for months.
"Arab League, beware of Bashar Assad!" read one banner carried by protesters in the central city of Homs, which has turned into one of the country's most deadly areas due to the military crackdown and what appears to be growing sectarian bloodshed.
Two main activist groups, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordinating Committees, said at least 15 people were killed on Friday, most of them in Homs and suburbs of the Syrian capital.
The violence was a blow to the 22-nation Arab League, which announced on Wednesday that Damascus had agreed to a broad peace plan that also called for the Syrian government to pull tanks and armored vehicles out of cities, release political prisoners and allow journalists and rights groups into the country.
Officials from the Cairo-based Arab League could not be reached for comment on Friday, the start of a holiday weekend.
On Friday, Syria's Interior Ministry gave one week for anyone who was involved in carrying, selling, buying or distributing arms to turn themselves in and benefit from a pardon.
Analysts say Assad's support is waning, and his backers are often motivated by little more than fear.