UN observers in Syria are worried that violence escalates around the Syrian opposition stronghold city of Homs, the UN reported.
“UN observers reported heavy fighting in Rastan and Talbiseh, north of the city, with artillery and mortar shelling, as well as firing from helicopters, machine guns and smaller arms,” UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh said as quoted by the UN website on Monday.
“In Talbiseh, UN observers reported that the Free Syrian Army captured Syrian Army soldiers,” Ghosheh said in a statement on Monday, adding that heavy artillery shelling and machine gun firing were audible in downtown Homs.
According to UN estimates, over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began about 15 months ago.
Ghosheh said UNSMIS calls on all sides to stop violence and ensure that civilians are protected and international law respected. She said the mission urges all parties to provide UNSMIS observers with immediate unrestricted access to conflict zones.
The statement comes after two massacres in Syria’s Houla and Hama in late May and early June that killed dozens, including women and children.
Earlier on Monday, UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan also expressed concern over the recent reports of violence escalation by both government and opposition forces.
UNSMIS observers monitor the cessation of violence in Syria and the implementation of Annan’s six-point peace plan, which calls to end violence, provide access to the country for humanitarian agencies and international media, release detainees and start constructive political dialogue.
U.S. State Department officials met with Russian Foreign Ministry diplomats in Moscow on Friday to try to hammer out a common position on the escalating crisis in Syria.
Russia - along with China - has twice vetoed UN resolutions against Damascus over what it says is a pro-rebel bias. Moscow has, however, fully backed Annan’s faltering peace plan for Syria.
The crisis in Syria began last March with a series of peaceful demonstrations against the 11-year-rule of Assad, but quickly descended into violence.
