UN observers tour suburbs of Syrian capital

DAMASCUS - A group of UN monitors headed Sunday to restive suburbs around the Syrian capital of Damascus as part of their mission to bring the 13-month unrest in Syria to a close at a time when the head of armed rebels reportedly said that the UN mission is doomed to failure.

The UN delegation toured Sunday the resort towns of al-Zabadani and Madaya as well as other suburbs around Damascus, witnesses said, adding that another group has been spotted in the town of Dael near southern Daraa province.

On daily bases the 50-member observers tour several areas across Syria, some of them have stationed in most intense provinces such as central Homs and Hama, and northern Idlib.

UN observers arrived in Syria three weeks ago to shore up a cease-fire truce brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, who set forward a six-point peace plan aiming at bringing the a political end to the Syrian crisis. Annan's plan calls mainly on halting violence from all sides of the conflict to pave the way for a conclusive dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Despite the presence of UN monitors in Syria, violence has notably ramped up, particularly in Damascus and northern Aleppo province, the two economic powerhouses of Syria, which have remained relatively calm during the year-long crisis in Syria, in part because Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still enjoys the support of the business classes and the minority groups, which feel vulnerable in an overwhelmingly Sunni majority.

Assad also enjoys the backing of the military despite some defections from individuals.

Blasts have shaken several areas in Damascus and Aleppo over the past few months. The Syrian government blames the attacks on the armed opposition and al-Qaida fighters, while the latter says the Assad regime is staging the attacks to tarnish the opposition.

The latest bombing took place Saturday, when three blasts rocked several parts of Damascus in separate timing, causing property losses only. Another blast struck a car wash in Aleppo, killing six people, including a woman and her two children.

Head of the rebels Free Syrian Army breakaway Col. Riadh Asa'ad reportedly said that Annan's plan is doomed to failure, accusing the regime of staging attacks to frame the rebels.

However, media reports claimed that jihadists from Libya have infiltrated Syria coming from Lebanon and Jordan and they have carried out several attacks against the government troops. Some of them were reported to have been killed in Syria and their names had appeared in some jihadists websites.

The US State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, expressed the US concern that some terrorist groups, particularly al-Qaida, seek to exploit the situation in Syria, stressing the need for implementing the UN envoy Kofi Annan's plan to halt the violence.

Answering a question at a press briefing in Washington last Wednesday on whether the US is worried that the Syrian opposition has taken up the form of al-Qaida attacks the likes of the latest terrorist bombings in Damascus, Idlib and Aleppo, Toner said that the US is concerned that a terrorist group which is al- Qaida mostly seeks to take advantage of such cases.

He called for abiding by Annan's plan for realizing a real halt of violence.

Meanwhile, Asa'ad said the failure of Annan's plan would positively reflect on the help some countries might for the rebels "as their stances have progressed regarding arming the Free Syrian Army."

Asa'ad questioned the prospect of Annan's plan amid "ongoing detentions and murders in all Syrian cities." he said the UN observers "have turned to perjurers."

Some countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have explicitly announced their will to arm the opposition in order to drive out the Assad regime by force.