UNSC calls on Syria to comply with deadline

The United Nations said that about 9,000 people have been killed since the crisis broke out in Syria in March last year, and Damascus blamed terrorist armed groups for the conflict, which claimed the lives of about 3,000 members of the Syrian security forces.

"The Security Council calls upon all parties, including the opposition, to cease armed violence in all its forms within 48 hours of the implementation in their entirety by the Syrian government of measures" listed in the new council document, the statement said.

"The Security Council further calls upon the opposition to engage with the Envoy (Annan) in this regard," the statement said.

"The Security Council reiterates its call for the Syrian authorities to allow immediate, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to al populations in need of assistance, in accordance with international law and guiding principles of humanitarian assistance," the statement said.

"The Security Council calls upon all parties in Syria, in particular the Syrian authorities, to cooperate fully with the United Nations and relevant humanitarian organizations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance," the statement said.

"To this end, the Security Council calls on all parties to immediately implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause as called for in the Envoy's six-point proposal," it said.

Annan's six-point plan calls for the withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centers, a daily halt in fighting for the delivery of humanitarian aid and treatment for the wounded, as well as talks between the government and opposition.

"The Security Council underscores the importance of an effective and credible United Nations supervision mechanism in Syria to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and relevant aspects of the Envoy's six-point proposal," the statement said.

On March 21, the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement to endorse the six-point proposal Annan presented to the Syrian authorities earlier last month during a visit to Damascus "to bring an end to all violence and human rights violations, secure humanitarian access and facilitate a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system."

The March 21 presidential statement also called on both the Syrian government and opposition to "work in good faith with" Annan "towards a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis and to implement fully and immediately his initial six-point proposal."

The Security Council requested UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "to provide proposals for" the UN supervision mechanism "as soon as appropriate, after consultations with the government of Syria," the statement said.