Anann gets Syria’s Approval on his Plan to end Conflict

The Syrian government has agreed to accept the six-point plan by joint United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on ending the violence in Syria, the former UN chief’s spokesman has said.

“The Syrian government has written to the joint special envoy Kofi Annan, accepting his six-point plan, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council,” Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Mr Annan views this as an important initial step that could bring an end to the violence and the bloodshed, provide aid to the suffering, and create an environment conducive to a political dialogue that would fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people,” he added.

Annan, who is in China to seek Beijing’s support for his peace proposal, had written to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asking Damascus to “put its commitments into immediate effect”.

His plan calls on Assad to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from protest hubs, a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire, access to all areas affected by the fighting and a UN-supervised halt to all clashes.

The opposition had earlier dismissed Annan’s initiative as an opportunity for the government to continue its repression.

Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin reporting from Beirut said: “The acceptance by Syria of the plan is very significant, but the question will be if the Syrian opposition now accepts it.”

Bassma Kodmani, an executive member of the Syrian National Council, a prominent opposition group, told Al Jazeera that the SNC “cautiously welcomes the regime’s acceptance of the plan”.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the SNC in Istanbul, Kodmani said the SNC would work towards making the plan succeed, but that its demand that Bashar al-Assad step down would not be dropped.

“We do continue to say that we need to see Bashar al-Assad step down. That will never change. For this, thousands of people have sacrificed. There is no way that any representative or credible opposition group can say otherwise. What we are saying here is that if this can open the way for a peaceful transition of power, this is what we would like to see,” she said.

Annan’s office also announced China’s decision to back Annan’s plan after the envoy held talks with Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister.

China, along with Russia drew international criticism earlier this year for blocking a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

The former UN secretary-general’s visit to Beijing came amid continued shelling of the city of Homs by Syrian troops.

Syria’s state-run news agency, meanwhile, said Assad had travelled to the Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs, a former opposition group stronghold that troops recaptured after a fierce assault. He was reported to have inspected troops stationed in the neighborhood.

Activists say hundreds were killed there during a weeks-long siege.

Despite global condemnation, Syrian troops have pushed ahead with offensives to reclaim territory from opposition fighters. The UN says more than 8,000 people have been killed in Syria’s year long uprising. In a sign of growing anxiety about the security situation, the Syrian authorities have banned men of military age from leaving the country, Lebanese officials said on Monday. The restrictions, issued on Saturday, require men between the age of 18 and 42 to get permission from military recruitment and immigration departments before travelling, the sources said, adding that border traffic at the main crossing between Beirut and Damascus had fallen by 60 per cent since the regulation. The move may impact the flow of thousands of Syrian workers who go to Lebanon for agricultural and construction projects, a major source of income in rural areas already hit by economic hardship as unrest grows.