Syria's Aleppo battered ahead of UN vote

Shells rained down on rebel positions in Aleppo on Friday ahead of a UN vote to deplore both the Syrian regime's use of heavy arms and world powers for failing to agree on steps to end the conflict.

The official SANA news agency said the army and police killed 17 "terrorists" in Aleppo, the commercial capital which the regime and rebels have been battling for control of since July 20.

Six civilians were killed in Damascus as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad moved on opposition enclaves, day after shelling killed 21 civilians at the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in the capital, a watchdog said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said another three civilians were killed in Houla, a central town where at least 108 people were massacred at the end of May, triggering international outrage.

Despite the violence, new weekly anti-regime protests were held across Syria in solidarity with the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, which troops have also pounded for weeks.

Activists were still counting the toll from Thursday, one of the bloodiest days in the uprising, when Kofi Annan quit as international envoy for Syria complaining his peace plan never received the backing it deserved.

The Observatory said more than 179 people were killed -- 110 civilians including 14 children, 43 soldiers and 26 rebels.

Dozens more civilians and rebels were killed in Al-Arbaeen, a besieged district of the central city of Hama, it said, adding it was hard to establish what had happened as communications were cut.

"The number of martyrs and wounded is not known as bodies were left lying in the streets, regime forces preventing residents from helping the wounded and burying the dead," said the opposition Syrian National Council.

The bloodshed mounted ahead of a UN General Assembly vote on a Saudi-drafted resolution that condemns Russia and China for blocking tougher action against Damascus at the UN Security Council.

But Arab nations have dropped an explicit demand for Assad to quit in an attempt to secure as large a majority as possible.

Explaining his decision to resign as UN and Arab League envoy, Annan voiced regret at the "increasing militarisation" of the nearly 17-month conflict.

The former UN secretary general also hit out at "continuous finger-pointing and name-calling" at the Security Council, which he said had stalled coordinated action to stop the violence.

"I did not receive all the support that the cause deserved," Annan said. "The increasing militarisation on the ground and the lack of unanimity in the Security Council fundamentally changed my role."

But Annan predicted Assad would go "sooner or later," and did not rule out his successor having more luck or success, despite his warning there was "no Plan B."

On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry said "a worthy candidate" to succeed Annan should be urgently found because "in the developing situation, keeping a UN presence in the country acquires special significance."

Writing in the Financial Times, Annan called on Moscow and Washington to shoulder responsibility for saving Syria from catastrophic civil war, and stressed Western military intervention would not deliver success on its own.

"Syria can still be saved from the worst calamity. But this requires courage and leadership, most of all from the permanent members of the Security Council, including from Presidents (Vladimir) Putin and (Barack) Obama," he wrote.

Annan's resignation sparked a new round of recriminations among the council's five permanent members.

The United States blamed Russia and China for vetoing three separate UN resolutions on the conflict.

"Annan's resignation highlights the failure at the United Nations Security Council of Russia and China to support meaningful resolutions against Assad that would have held Assad accountable," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Germany also said Annan's decision was partly due to Chinese and Russian opposition to sanctions.

But Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, insisted Moscow had supported Annan "very strongly," and Putin called his resignation a "great shame."

"Kofi Annan is a man of great merit, a brilliant diplomat and a very honest person, so it is a great shame," Putin said.

Beijing said it regretted Annan's resignation and wanted the UN to play an "important role" in trying to stop the conflict, which activists say has killed more than 20,000 people since it erupted in March 2011.

Iran blamed "interfering countries" for making Annan's mission fail, and implied it could now be among those taking "a more crucial role" in solving the conflict.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague pledged greater "practical but non-lethal support" for the rebellion.

Russia and China are expected to vote against the resolution before the UN General Assembly, where no country has the power of veto.

On the ground, violence persisted across Syria and the battle for control of Aleppo intensified, with Assad's forces hammering rebel-held areas with fighter jets.

Rebels hit back by shelling the Menagh air base outside the northern city, and used tanks for the first time in the assault, a commander said.

A Syrian security source said government troops were "testing the terrorists' defence systems ... before annihilating them by carrying out a surgical operation."

On Thursday, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous had said the "spiral of violence is still increasing," the focus was now on Aleppo" where there has been a considerable buildup of military means and where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/annan-quits-over-lack-support-syria-peace-plan-022413378.html

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