Syria: At Least 70 Dead As Annan Urges Assad To Accept Plan

According to the opposition Coordinating Committees of the Syrian Revolt, at least 70 people were killed Wednesday by regime forces, mainly in Hama. Meanwhile, another “massacre” has been discovered in Homs, where 39 bodies bearing signs of torture and mutilation were found in the Al-Khalediya district. In this relation, “Al Arabiya” TV channel cited inhabitants of Homs as saying that the authorities were ready to bury the victims who died in the bombings of the city or by torture, in mass graves, in order to erase the traces of these crimes. Last week, the morgue of the military hospital in the city said it had in its possession more than 1,150 corpses.

Meanwhile, the U.N. and Arab envoy to Syria Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged Damascus to “respond positively” to the call by the Security Council, asking the Syrian regime to implement his six-point peace plan proposed by him during his latest meetings with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Kofi Annan is “encouraged by the support and solidarity of the Security Council to his efforts and urges the Syrian authorities to respond positively,” said his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi. Those statements Wednesday came following the adoption by the Security Council a statement supporting the mediation of the UN envoy to end a year of violence in Syria and urging Damascus to implement, without any delay, his peace proposals.