Current Situation:
Syrian forces on Thursday April 5 continued military operations throughout the country, this in spite of Assad’s pledge to immediately withdraw troops from towns and cities.
The aforementioned agreement is supposed to be implemented by April 10, which was brokered by the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. However, in an April 5 speech, Annan set a firm deadline at which hostilities must end – April 12, 06:00 local time. In addition to the government pull-out, all forces are to observe a ceasefire, but for the rebels only after the withdrawals have taken place.
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Forces stormed the population centers of al-Mazareb, Khirbet Ghazale, Homs, Latame, and Saraqeb. The violence followed ongoing bloodshed on April 3 that left some 80 people killed.
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On the diplomatic front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Sunni Arab and Western states against arming Syrian rebels by saying even if they were “armed to the teeth”, they will still lose.
Assessments and Recommendations:
