05/09/2012, 00.00
SYRIA
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UN convoy hit by a bomb in Daraa

On board General Robert Mood, Chief of UN observers in Syria. The explosion injured three soldiers who were escorting the group. Authors of attack unknown. Annan fears civil war imminent.

Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A military convoy carrying Gen. Robert Mood, Chief of UN observers was attacked near the town of Daraa, in the South. The road-side bomb exploded immediately after the passage of the truck and hit the UN military escort. Three soldiers were wounded in the explosion; Mood and other officials escaped unharmed. It is not yet clear who planned the attack which occurred two days after the first democratic elections in the country, according to the regime's SANA news agency, held in an atmosphere of calm and registering a large turnout.

Daraa is heartland of the revolt against Assad and where it all began in March 2011. Despite the cease-fire in effect since April 12 clashes between rebels and the army have never stopped. UN sources explain that this situation continues in Hama, Homs and Idlib, which have all become a ghost town.

Yesterday, before the United Nations Security Council, Kofi Annan, UN and Arab League envoy in Syria, abandoned his initials optimism, stressing the risk of an impending civil war. According to the diplomat forcing the regime and rebels to respect the peace plan is the last chance to stop the violence. Annan explained that in some cities the presence of 30 observers was hampered by the blatant actions of the military and guerrillas of the Free Syrian Army, but neither side made any serious efforts to lay down their arms and respect the peace plan. "The priority - he said - is to stop all forms of violence and retaliation."

 

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