UN envoy in Syria for talks on proposed truce

The United Nations-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi arrived Friday in Damascus for talks on a truce during a Muslim holiday later this month, DPA reported.

Brahimi's spokesman Ahmed Fawzi said the UN envoy would meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "very soon." State media reported Brahimi will meet with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Saturday.

Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, has proposed a ceasefire between the Syrian government and rebels during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, which begins October 26.

The Syrian government and the opposition have expressed willingness to consider the ceasefire proposal.

His visit to Syria follows a regional tour that took Brahimi to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan to drum up support for his proposal.

Brahimi also visited Iran, a key ally of al-Assad's regime. He has said the proposed truce could pave the way for a political solution to Syria's 20-month conflict.

The United States supports a proposed ceasefire in Syria during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha "so that the Syrian people may observe the religious holiday in peace and security," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

"We urge the Syrian government to stop all military operations and call on opposition forces to follow suit," she said. "The Syrian government should also permit full and immediate humanitarian access to districts that have been under siege and allow vital supplies to reach people in need."

European Union leaders also expressed full support for Brahimi's efforts.

"In Syria, unprecedented use of force against civilians by the regime is exacerbating further the violence and the stability of the region," said the bloc's President Herman Van Rompuy.

"We also endorsed the additional sanctions against the Syrian regime adopted early this week by the foreign ministers," he told reporters after an EU summit in Brussels.

Germany announced that it was doubling to 55 million euros (72 million dollars) its financial help for Syrian refugees.

In Syria, at least 25 people were killed Friday, mainly in the northern province of Idlib, reported opposition activists.

Government jets mounted raids against rebels who have been besieging a military base in Idlib for several days, they added.

"Some 2,500 fighters are launching an attack against the army's camp in Wadi al- Daif (in Idlib), where some 300 troops are being besieged," said Abu Alaa, a rebel commander near the Syrian-Turkish border.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Friday released pictures of what it said were evidence of the government's use of cluster bombs in an area close to the Turkish border.

The London-based watchdog said cluster munitions were dropped by Syrian warplanes against rebel fighters in Idlib on October 11 and 12.

The images show what the organization described as spent cluster bomb canisters that had been dropped on the town of Saraqab in Idlib.

New York-based Human Rights Watch last week accused al-Assad's government of using cluster bombs against populated areas.

Meanwhile, Turkey shelled areas in Syria after two shells fired from Syria landed in the Turkish territory, causing no casualties, the Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported.

Turkey has vowed to retaliate each Syrian shell that falls inside its territory, after Syrian mortar shells killed five Turkish civilians in a Turkish frontier town on October 3.

The two countries have banned each other's civilian aircraft from flying over their airspace.