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| Syria crisis - live updates | Syria crisis - live updates |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 11.29am: China has added its backing to Kofi Annan's proposals for ending the violence in Syria, according to state news agency Xinhuan. | |
| China supported Annan's efforts in promoting a political resolution to the Syrian crisis, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a routine press briefing in response to a question concerning France's proposal of drafting a presidential statement to put to the council members. | |
| A recent draft of the latest presidential statement, published by Inner City Press, sets out a Annan's six-point plan for ending the crisis. | |
| They are: | |
| 1) commit to work with the joint special envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political dialogue to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people. | |
| 2) commit to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians, by immediately ceasing troop movements towards and ending the use of heavy weapons in, population centres, and beginning pullback of military concentrations in and around population centres. As these actions are being taken on the ground, the joint special envoy shall seek similar commitments from all other armed groups to cease violence, under an effective United Nations supervision mechanism. | |
| 3) ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting. | |
| 4) in close coordination with humanitarian organisations, intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons, including especially vulnerable persons and those involved in peaceful protests, by providing without delay to humanitarian organisations a list of all locations in which such persons are being detained and immediately beginning to organise with humanitarian organisations access to such locations. | |
| 5) ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists. | |
| 6) ensure freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed. | |
| 10.45am: New video from the central Syrian city of Hama purports to show the city's al-Madiq fortress being shelled. | 10.45am: New video from the central Syrian city of Hama purports to show the city's al-Madiq fortress being shelled. |
| 10.15am: An Islamist group has claimed responsibility for last weekend's suicide car bombings in central Damascus, AFP reports citing a statement by an Islamist group. | 10.15am: An Islamist group has claimed responsibility for last weekend's suicide car bombings in central Damascus, AFP reports citing a statement by an Islamist group. |
| Al-Nusra Front to Protect the Levant, in the statement on Islamist websites, said its militants carried out "a series of military operations... especially the air force security" buildings of the "criminal regime" in Damascus. | Al-Nusra Front to Protect the Levant, in the statement on Islamist websites, said its militants carried out "a series of military operations... especially the air force security" buildings of the "criminal regime" in Damascus. |
| The attacks were "in response to the continued shelling by the regime of residential districts of Homs, Idlib, Hama and Daraa," it said, listing major centers of opposition across Syria. | The attacks were "in response to the continued shelling by the regime of residential districts of Homs, Idlib, Hama and Daraa," it said, listing major centers of opposition across Syria. |
| "We will later respond to the crimes carried out by the regime" in the central city of Homs, it warned, demanding that the regime, led by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, "stop its massacres of Sunnis." | "We will later respond to the crimes carried out by the regime" in the central city of Homs, it warned, demanding that the regime, led by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, "stop its massacres of Sunnis." |
| The bomb attacks killed at least 27 people. | The bomb attacks killed at least 27 people. |
| 10.10am: The Khaldiyeh neighbourhood of Homs has been under bombardment since dawn, according to Waleed Fares an activist in the area. | 10.10am: The Khaldiyeh neighbourhood of Homs has been under bombardment since dawn, according to Waleed Fares an activist in the area. |
| "There are some tanks around al-Khaldiyeh neighbourhood. I can hear very big bombing every five minutes," he told the Guardian. | "There are some tanks around al-Khaldiyeh neighbourhood. I can hear very big bombing every five minutes," he told the Guardian. |
| Speaking via Skype, Fares also reported hearing gunfire at checkpoints in the area. | Speaking via Skype, Fares also reported hearing gunfire at checkpoints in the area. |
| The Free Syrian Army can't do anything against tanks, he said. But he claimed rebels troops were supplying the area with food and medicine. | The Free Syrian Army can't do anything against tanks, he said. But he claimed rebels troops were supplying the area with food and medicine. |
| He said residents were afraid of "a miserable massacre" if the FSA flees the area. He claimed 15 people had been killed in a nearby neighbourhood today. | He said residents were afraid of "a miserable massacre" if the FSA flees the area. He claimed 15 people had been killed in a nearby neighbourhood today. |
| Ten people, including two children, were killed in Khaldiyeh yesterday, Fares claimed. "Today we have two wounded, but we don't have any martyrs," he said. But he said some may have been killed in the shelling. | Ten people, including two children, were killed in Khaldiyeh yesterday, Fares claimed. "Today we have two wounded, but we don't have any martyrs," he said. But he said some may have been killed in the shelling. |
| (Apologies for the background noise in the audio) | (Apologies for the background noise in the audio) |
| 9.31am: Activists in Homs claim the army is storming the district of Khaldiyeh, a former opposition in the north of the city. | 9.31am: Activists in Homs claim the army is storming the district of Khaldiyeh, a former opposition in the north of the city. |
| "The situation is really bad," said Sami, an activist from the Insha'at district, in the south-west of the city, who tweets under the name @Samsomhoms. | "The situation is really bad," said Sami, an activist from the Insha'at district, in the south-west of the city, who tweets under the name @Samsomhoms. |
| Speaking via Skype chat he said: "The regime is trying to invade Khalidiyeh district which is under Free Syrian Army control." | Speaking via Skype chat he said: "The regime is trying to invade Khalidiyeh district which is under Free Syrian Army control." |
| Another activist tweets: | Another activist tweets: |
| Khaldeyyi #Homs is on lock down, ppl left there are facing following:- die in rubble of their homes- sniped to death- possible incursion | Khaldeyyi #Homs is on lock down, ppl left there are facing following:- die in rubble of their homes- sniped to death- possible incursion |
| — ♕The 47th♕ (@THE_47th) March 21, 2012 | — ♕The 47th♕ (@THE_47th) March 21, 2012 |
| 8.50am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is set to return to Damascus 'very soon' as the suburbs of the Syrian capital come heavy bombardment. | 8.50am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is set to return to Damascus 'very soon' as the suburbs of the Syrian capital come heavy bombardment. |
| Here's a roundup of the latest developments: | Here's a roundup of the latest developments: |
| Syria | Syria |
| • In an effort to secure Russia's backing, western powers on the UN security council have diluted a draft statement backing Annan's drive to end violence that has brought the country to the brink of civil war, Reuters reports. The 15-nation panel held two rounds of negotiations on a Western-drafted statement that would express "full support" for Annan's peace efforts while threatening Damascus with "further steps" if it failed to comply with the council's demands "in a timely manner," council diplomats told Reuters. | • In an effort to secure Russia's backing, western powers on the UN security council have diluted a draft statement backing Annan's drive to end violence that has brought the country to the brink of civil war, Reuters reports. The 15-nation panel held two rounds of negotiations on a Western-drafted statement that would express "full support" for Annan's peace efforts while threatening Damascus with "further steps" if it failed to comply with the council's demands "in a timely manner," council diplomats told Reuters. |
| • Two large suburbs of Damascus have come under heavy tank bombardment, according to opposition activists, following renewed Free Syrian Army attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Artillery and anti-aircraft gun barrages hit the suburbs of Harasta and Irbin, retaken by Assad's forces from rebels two months ago, and army helicopters were heard flying over the area on the eastern edge of the capital, the sources said. | • Two large suburbs of Damascus have come under heavy tank bombardment, according to opposition activists, following renewed Free Syrian Army attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Artillery and anti-aircraft gun barrages hit the suburbs of Harasta and Irbin, retaken by Assad's forces from rebels two months ago, and army helicopters were heard flying over the area on the eastern edge of the capital, the sources said. |
| • Annan is set to return to Damascus according UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Now Lebanon reports. "I expect him to return to Damascus very soon," Ban told a conference in Jakarta. | • Annan is set to return to Damascus according UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Now Lebanon reports. "I expect him to return to Damascus very soon," Ban told a conference in Jakarta. |
| • Annan's mission should be given a chance, argues Patrick Seale, in Foreign Affairs magazine. | • Annan's mission should be given a chance, argues Patrick Seale, in Foreign Affairs magazine. |
| In both camps there are men who now realize that there can be no military solution to the crisis – either in Syria or in Iran. Indeed, Annan's Syrian venture is mirrored by the efforts of the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to open a dialogue with Iran. The peacemakers should be given a chance. But there are still plenty of hawks about – in the United States, in Israel, and in some European and Arab capitals – who dream of regime change in Tehran and Damascus, and will be content with nothing less. | In both camps there are men who now realize that there can be no military solution to the crisis – either in Syria or in Iran. Indeed, Annan's Syrian venture is mirrored by the efforts of the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to open a dialogue with Iran. The peacemakers should be given a chance. But there are still plenty of hawks about – in the United States, in Israel, and in some European and Arab capitals – who dream of regime change in Tehran and Damascus, and will be content with nothing less. |
| • Assad's father-in-law, Dr Fawaz Akhras, is under pressure to step down as co-chairman of the British Syrian Society after the resignation of all its British board members over the brutal repression of protests. Sir Andrew Green, a former British ambassador to Syria and co-chairman of the society, admitted it had faced disarray over the past year, and that the leaked Assad emails – especially those showing Akhras advising Assad how to rebut evidence of civilians being tortured – were the last straw. | • Assad's father-in-law, Dr Fawaz Akhras, is under pressure to step down as co-chairman of the British Syrian Society after the resignation of all its British board members over the brutal repression of protests. Sir Andrew Green, a former British ambassador to Syria and co-chairman of the society, admitted it had faced disarray over the past year, and that the leaked Assad emails – especially those showing Akhras advising Assad how to rebut evidence of civilians being tortured – were the last straw. |
| • The White House has expressed its disgust at emails leaked by the Guardian which show the Assads going on luxury internet shopping sprees during the crackdown. Spokesman Jay Carney confirmed the US is considering tightening sanctions against the regime. He said: | • The White House has expressed its disgust at emails leaked by the Guardian which show the Assads going on luxury internet shopping sprees during the crackdown. Spokesman Jay Carney confirmed the US is considering tightening sanctions against the regime. He said: |
| With regards to those emails, I saw that it just – it's really sickening, if you think about it, that a man who is overseeing the slaughter of his own people is chortling about evading sanctions and getting an iTunes account. There may be no better image for the kind of heartless and brutal approach that he's taken to the demands of his own people for greater democracy and better treatment from their own government. | With regards to those emails, I saw that it just – it's really sickening, if you think about it, that a man who is overseeing the slaughter of his own people is chortling about evading sanctions and getting an iTunes account. There may be no better image for the kind of heartless and brutal approach that he's taken to the demands of his own people for greater democracy and better treatment from their own government. |
| • Former al-Jazeera reporter Ali Hashem claims that Qatari executives at the channel censored a report showing that weapons being smuggled to Syrian rebels as early as last May. He told Real News: | • Former al-Jazeera reporter Ali Hashem claims that Qatari executives at the channel censored a report showing that weapons being smuggled to Syrian rebels as early as last May. He told Real News: |
| If it was any other channel, this should be a breaking news, it should be a big story. But .... Al Jazeera they went back to, maybe, the owners, and then it was kind of—it's not allowed. | If it was any other channel, this should be a breaking news, it should be a big story. But .... Al Jazeera they went back to, maybe, the owners, and then it was kind of—it's not allowed. |
| Libya | Libya |
| • Mauritania has agreed to extradite Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi to Libya, according to Libya's deputy prime minister. "I have met the president of Mauritania and he agreed to the extradition of Senussi to Libya," Mustafa Abu Shagour wrote on Twitter. | • Mauritania has agreed to extradite Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi to Libya, according to Libya's deputy prime minister. "I have met the president of Mauritania and he agreed to the extradition of Senussi to Libya," Mustafa Abu Shagour wrote on Twitter. |