World leaders accuse Syrian regime of stalling as fragile peace plan crumbles

Syria's wanton disregard of the deadline for a ceasefire sparked international outrage yesterday, with pressure mounting for tougher measures to end the bloodshed.


The six-point peace plan drawn up by the UN-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, appeared doomed as Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, added further stipulations to Syria's compliance and 65 more deaths were reported across the country despite yesterday morning's troop withdrawal deadline.

Adding another caveat that was viewed as yet more stalling, Mr Muallem said that the ceasefire should only fully begin with the deployment of an international observer mission, but maintained that Syria was committed to the plan and said some pullbacks had already begun.       More Read