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| Syria crisis - live updates | Syria crisis - live updates |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.17am: The opposition Syrian National Council says it is drawing up a code of conduct to try to prevent human rights abuses by rebel groups, the Wall Street Journal reports. | |
| Human Rights Watch challenge the SNC to condemn and forbid abuses after it documented evidence of kidnap, torture and executions by some rebel elements. | |
| The Wall Street Journal quotes a statement from SNC spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani as saying: "The Syrian National Council deplores the reported incidents of human rights violations by armed opposition groups in Syria. | |
| The statement added that the council was working to "build coordination between the various groups on the ground in Syria to ensure that human rights abuse does not occur in the fight for freedom." | |
| Dissident blogger, Ammar Abdulhamid, is a staunch critic of the SNC, but he agreed that abuses should be stamped out. In his latest post he wrote: | |
| Although the number of reported incidents of abuse on part of the rebels pales in comparison with what regime security officials and pro-Assad death squads are doing, the situation does call for serious remedy if we are to preserve the integrity and credibility of the resistance movement. | |
| 10.00am: The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria has dismissed Kofi Annan's peace mission as "insignificant" and backed calls for the rebels to be armed. | |
| In an interview with the pan-Arab magazine Majalla, Mohammed Riad Al- Shaqfa, criticised feeble international statements on Syria. | |
| Speaking before yesterday's UN statement, he called for humanitarian corridors to be established in Syria. | |
| The international community's stance is still weak and is not yet equal to the sacrifices of the Syrian people. We do not hear anything except statements; in reality nothing happens. We believe that safe corridors and safe areas are now an urgent necessity in order to protect the Syrian people. | |
| Shaqfa said diplomacy was futile because the Syrian government only understands the language of force. He expressed backing for the Free Syrian Army and welcomed Saudi Arabia and Qatar's calls for help in arming in the rebels. | |
| He said: | |
| People in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have properly assessed the situation: that the Syrian regime doesn't understand any concept but force and it should be faced by force. The Syrian people have the right to acquire weapons to defend themselves. The Syrian people appreciate their support. | |
| 9.18am: Footage from activists suggests that opposition forces continue to resist government troops. | 9.18am: Footage from activists suggests that opposition forces continue to resist government troops. |
| This footage purports to shows street-to-street fighting in the Deir Ba'albeh district of north east Homs. | This footage purports to shows street-to-street fighting in the Deir Ba'albeh district of north east Homs. |
| Another clip from the nearby al-Khadiyeh district shows a tank being blown up. | Another clip from the nearby al-Khadiyeh district shows a tank being blown up. |
| 8.44am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. Fighting in Syria continues in defiance of a UN statement calling for ceasefire. | 8.44am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. Fighting in Syria continues in defiance of a UN statement calling for ceasefire. |
| Here's a roundup of the latest developments: | Here's a roundup of the latest developments: |
| Syria | Syria |
| • UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says a ceasefire must happen soon in Syria so that humanitarian aid can be dispatched. He said: | • UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says a ceasefire must happen soon in Syria so that humanitarian aid can be dispatched. He said: |
| In clear and unmistakable terms, the Security Council called for an immediate end to all violence and human rights violations. It demanded secure humanitarian access and a comprehensive political dialogue between the government and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition. | In clear and unmistakable terms, the Security Council called for an immediate end to all violence and human rights violations. It demanded secure humanitarian access and a comprehensive political dialogue between the government and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition. |
| • The UN security council, including Russia and China, has thrown its weight behind efforts by Kofi Annan to end the bloody conflict in Syria. Although the original statement was diluted at Russia's demand, editing out any specific ultimatums, the fact that all major powers signed up to the proposal represented a major blow to President Bashar al-Assad as he battles a popular uprising. | • The UN security council, including Russia and China, has thrown its weight behind efforts by Kofi Annan to end the bloody conflict in Syria. Although the original statement was diluted at Russia's demand, editing out any specific ultimatums, the fact that all major powers signed up to the proposal represented a major blow to President Bashar al-Assad as he battles a popular uprising. |
| • Annan's peace plan poses an even greater dilemma for the Syrian opposition, writes Tony Karon for Time magazine. | • Annan's peace plan poses an even greater dilemma for the Syrian opposition, writes Tony Karon for Time magazine. |
| Pressing on with an armed rebellion would likely require a protracted Iraq-style insurgency with uncertain results. To be sure, the rebellion is on a stronger footing if matters are settled politically than it if they're to be settled by force of arms — that may be why the Assad regime unleashed such ruthless repression against peaceful protests at the onset of the rebellion to provoke it onto terrain more favourable to those in power. | Pressing on with an armed rebellion would likely require a protracted Iraq-style insurgency with uncertain results. To be sure, the rebellion is on a stronger footing if matters are settled politically than it if they're to be settled by force of arms — that may be why the Assad regime unleashed such ruthless repression against peaceful protests at the onset of the rebellion to provoke it onto terrain more favourable to those in power. |
| • Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses by Syrian security s in their military campaign on al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border. Witnesses describe heavy shelling of residential neighbourhoods, snipers shooting residents on the streets, and attacks on fleeing residents. | • Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses by Syrian security s in their military campaign on al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border. Witnesses describe heavy shelling of residential neighbourhoods, snipers shooting residents on the streets, and attacks on fleeing residents. |
| • Staff from UN agencies are taking part in a government-led assessment of Syrian areas affected by unrest. The agencies include the World Food Programme, the UN Children's Fund , and the World Health Organisation, as well as from the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are accompanying the mission, which intends to visit the governorates of Homs, Hama, Tartous, Lattakia, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor rural Damascus and Dera'a. But has not specified which cities would be visited within those governorates, meaning there is no guarantee that the aid workers will be able to access the most devastated areas. | • Staff from UN agencies are taking part in a government-led assessment of Syrian areas affected by unrest. The agencies include the World Food Programme, the UN Children's Fund , and the World Health Organisation, as well as from the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are accompanying the mission, which intends to visit the governorates of Homs, Hama, Tartous, Lattakia, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor rural Damascus and Dera'a. But has not specified which cities would be visited within those governorates, meaning there is no guarantee that the aid workers will be able to access the most devastated areas. |
| • Bashar al-Assad's London tutor, Professor John Hardy, has criticised western hypocrisy over Syria. In a letter to the Guardian, Hardy, a professor of neuroscience at University College London, said he did not want to defend the killing of innocents. But he asked: What is the difference between Bahrain and Syria, except that we want oil and the military base in the former and the latter has nothing we really want? | • Bashar al-Assad's London tutor, Professor John Hardy, has criticised western hypocrisy over Syria. In a letter to the Guardian, Hardy, a professor of neuroscience at University College London, said he did not want to defend the killing of innocents. But he asked: What is the difference between Bahrain and Syria, except that we want oil and the military base in the former and the latter has nothing we really want? |
| Israel and the Palestinian territories | Israel and the Palestinian territories |
| • Jewish settlers in the West Bank are conducting a systematic and expanding campaign of violence against Palestinian families while Israeli authorities turn a blind eye, according to confidential reports from senior European Union officials. In two reports to Brussels from EU heads of mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah, obtained by the Guardian, the officials found that settler violence against Palestinians has more than tripled in three years to total hundreds of incidents. | • Jewish settlers in the West Bank are conducting a systematic and expanding campaign of violence against Palestinian families while Israeli authorities turn a blind eye, according to confidential reports from senior European Union officials. In two reports to Brussels from EU heads of mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah, obtained by the Guardian, the officials found that settler violence against Palestinians has more than tripled in three years to total hundreds of incidents. |
| Libya | Libya |
| • Libya claims to have got agreement from Mauritania to hand over the former Gaddafi intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, but the lack of any timetable led to speculation of a delaying tactic in the face of competing bids to extradite him. A National Transitional Council spokesman said: "We have agreement from Mauritania to deliver Senussi to Libya where he will receive a fair trial. No date has been decided, but it will be very soon." | • Libya claims to have got agreement from Mauritania to hand over the former Gaddafi intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, but the lack of any timetable led to speculation of a delaying tactic in the face of competing bids to extradite him. A National Transitional Council spokesman said: "We have agreement from Mauritania to deliver Senussi to Libya where he will receive a fair trial. No date has been decided, but it will be very soon." |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| • The Muslim Brotherhood is debating whether to field its own candidate in Egypt's upcoming presidential contest, after failing to persuade several outside figures to run with the group's backing, the New York Times reports. The Brotherhood had previously said it would not nominate a candidate for president, for fear of scaring voters who are wary that it would dominate the political scene or provoke a response by the country's military rulers. | • The Muslim Brotherhood is debating whether to field its own candidate in Egypt's upcoming presidential contest, after failing to persuade several outside figures to run with the group's backing, the New York Times reports. The Brotherhood had previously said it would not nominate a candidate for president, for fear of scaring voters who are wary that it would dominate the political scene or provoke a response by the country's military rulers. |