1,000 Syrian refugees flee to Turkey

Annan urges UN Security Council to support his efforts; FM calls on President Assad's govt to improve humanitarian situation

Syrian forces pressed their military offensive in the northern province of Idlib, driving 1,000 refugees across the Turkish border as the bloody revolt against President Bashar al-Assad entered a second year with no sign of a political solution.

Syrian people travel by truck across the border to the Turkish town of Reyhanli, on Thursday, one year after a political crisis broke out in Syria. Photo by Bulent Kilic / Agence France-Presse

Forty-five civilians were killed in the frontier province, including 23 whose bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs and five army deserters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported.

The bloodshed and continued flow of refugees prompted Turkey to suggest it might support a "buffer zone" inside Syria, a move likely to enrage Damascus.

"The continuous unrest in Syria has brought suffering to the Syrian people, and China is deeply concerned about the situation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular news conference on Friday.

He said China has played an active role in promoting dialogue and easing the tension, and provided emergency humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.

Liu said China supports the UN to play a leading role in coordinating humanitarian assistance in Syria.

Liu called on the Syrian government to improve cooperation with the UN, and effectively ease the tensions and improve the humanitarian situation in Syria.

In an orchestrated show of support for Assad, huge crowds took to the streets of Syria's cities on Thursday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the unrest.

The UN-Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis, Kofi Annan, urged the Security Council to overcome its deadlock and unify in support of his efforts to end the violence that has brought Syria to the brink of civil war, UN diplomats said on Friday.

Addressing a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation council via video link, Annan said the stronger their message is in support of his efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, the better his chances will be of altering the dynamics of the conflict, council diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Liu said earlier that China supports Annan to play a constructive role in promoting a political resolution to end the Syrian crisis and welcomes his mediation efforts.China hopes the Syrian government and relevant Syrian parties to cooperate Annan's mediation efforts, he said, also calling on the international community to provide constructive assistance.

Western diplomats privately expressed pessimism over Annan's chances of success.

Syria said on Wednesday it had given a "positive" response to Annan's approach.

Syrian media announced government forces had cleared "armed terrorists" from Idlib, suggesting the army was gaining ground against the uprising, which has killed at least 8,000 people and crippled the economy.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three soldiers were killed in Homs, further south.

The UN aid chief Valerie Amos said Syria had agreed to a joint mission to assess the humanitarian needs of various cities and towns this weekend, but she indicated it was not enough.

"I repeat my calls to the government of Syria to allow humanitarian organizations unhindered access, so they can help people in need in a neutral and impartial manner," she said.

Turkey said 1,000 Syrians had crossed its borders in the last 24 hours, fleeing fighting in Idlib, raising the total of registered Syrian refugees in Turkey to 14,000. Among those who escaped was a Syrian general, the seventh to cross into Turkey.

Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Besir Atalay told NTV television that Turkey, which hosts Syrian opposition activists, was working closely with the Arab League to tackle the problem.

"Of course Turkey has a lot of experience on this matter, about what can be done, including the buffer zone which you mentioned. The subject you mentioned is among the possible things we will probably work on in the coming period," he said.

Turkey set up a buffer zone along the border with Iraq during the Gulf War in the early 1990s, when tens of thousands of refugees headed towards Turkish territory.

UN figures estimate that about 230,000 Syrians have been displaced from their homes, including 30,000 who have fled abroad, raising the prospect of a regional refugee crisis.

Reuters-Xinhua