Damascus (AsiaNews
/ Agencies) -
A military convoy carrying Gen. Robert
Mood, Chief of
UN observers was
attacked near the town of Daraa, in the South. The
road-side bomb exploded immediately after the passage of the truck and hit the UN military escort. Three
soldiers were wounded in the
explosion; Mood and other officials escaped unharmed. It is not yet
clear who planned the attack which occurred two days after the first democratic elections in the country, according to the regime's
SANA
news agency, held in an atmosphere of calm and registering a large turnout.
Daraa is heartland of the revolt against Assad and where it all began in March 2011. Despite
the cease-fire in effect since April
12 clashes between rebels and the army have never stopped. UN sources explain
that this situation continues in Hama,
Homs
and Idlib, which have all become a ghost town.
Yesterday, before the United Nations Security Council, Kofi Annan, UN and Arab
League envoy in Syria, abandoned his initials optimism,
stressing the risk of an impending civil war. According to the diplomat forcing the regime and rebels
to respect the peace plan is the last chance to stop the violence.
Annan explained that in some cities the presence of 30 observers was
hampered by the blatant actions of the military and guerrillas of the Free
Syrian Army, but
neither side made any serious efforts to lay down their arms and respect the peace plan. "The priority - he said - is to stop
all forms of violence and retaliation."