Joint UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan warned Tuesday that Syria was at a "tipping point," and urged the Syrian regime to fully implement his six-point peace plan aimed at ending the nearly 15 months of bloodshed in the unrest-hit Middle East nation.
In a statement released by his office after two hours of talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, Annan said he informed Assad of the "grave concern of the international community about the violence in Syria, including in particular the recent events in Houla."
The joint envoy was apparently referring to last week's massacre of some 108 people, mostly women and children, in the Syrian village of Houla. The Assad government blames Islamist militants for the massacre, while United Nations observers implicated the Syrian Army.
According to the statement, Annan also "conveyed in frank terms his view to President Assad that the six-point plan cannot succeed without bold steps to stop the violence and release detainees, and stressed the importance of full implementation of the plan."
Annan said he appealed to the Syrian President for implementing "bold steps now -- not tomorrow, now -- to create momentum for the implementation" of his six-point peace plan aimed at ending the violence.
"We are at a tipping point. The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division. Yet the killings continue and the abuses are still with us today," Annan said in the statement. He also appealed "to the armed opposition to cease acts of violence."
Meanwhile, Syrian state-run television quoted Assad as telling Annan that the recent killings and kidnappings in Syria was the result of various "terrorist groups" escalating their operations in his country. The Syrian President also urged nations that are "financing and harboring terrorist groups" to honor the peace plan.
Annan's peace plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.
Annan's visit to Syria comes amidst growing international outrage over the massacre in Houla, which the UN has blamed on the Syrian army. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN human rights office, said Tuesday that Syrian security forces were clearly involved in the killings.
Colville noted that only a "fairly small number appear to have been killed by shelling, artillery and tank fire which took place over a period of more than 12 hours," and said majority appear to have died as a result of "summary executions" by "armed men going into houses and killing men, women and children inside."
"What is clear is government forces were involved. They were shelling, using tanks and artillery. And it appears to be Shabiha militia (a government militia group), entering houses and slaughtering people in what is really an abominable crime that took place throughout the day on Friday," he added.
In response to the Houla massacre, many western nations, including the United States, France, Australia, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Netherlands and Switzerland, have expelled the Syrian envoys in their capitals.
Although the UN estimates that more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since the popular unrest against the rule of President Assad began in March 2011, the opposition claims that the figure is actually closer to 11,000. N9otably, the Assad government continues to blame "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign mercenaries for the violence.
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