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Syrian forces storm areas in near Turkish border, activists say

Arab World Materials 5 May 2012 13:20 (UTC +04:00)
Syrian forces stormed areas near the Turkish border Saturday wounding at least 20 people, while two explosions were heard in the capital Damascus, activists said.
Syrian forces storm areas in near Turkish border, activists say

Syrian forces stormed areas near the Turkish border Saturday wounding at least 20 people, while two explosions were heard in the capital Damascus, activists said.

"Heavy shelling targeted the area of Salameen before troops stormed it, and started terrorizing the people," activist Firas Idlibi told dpa.

Salameen is located in the northern Idlib province, which is a hub for the rebel Free Syrian Army.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two explosions were heard in the capital. It said no casualties had been reported.

The opposition al-Sham network said the explosion took place on a market street, but it described the blast as "not big."

The Local Coordination Committee which documents casualties across Syria, said Friday's death toll reached 48.

The observatory said more than 600 people have died in violence since the April 12 ceasefire went into effect. The watchdog estimates that more than 11,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of the revolt in March 2011, while UN estimates say more than 9,000.

Ahmed Fawzi, spokesman for UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, said the peace plan for Syria is "on track," although implementing the ceasefire has been slow.

Fawzi said about 50 UN observers were in the country.

An advance team of unarmed UN observers arrived in Syria on April 16 to supervise a UN-brokered ceasefire, and up to 300 monitors are due to arrive in the coming weeks.

Annan's peace plan calls for a halt to fighting, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from urban areas, a daily humanitarian ceasefire, media access and political dialogue between the two rival sides.

The opposition said the head of the Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, will visit China on Sunday at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and is scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Ministry officials during his three-day visit.

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