SYRIAN CEASE-FIRE ON PAPER

The killing in the past 24 hours of 71 people shows that almost nothing has changed in Syria since the cease fire. Violence continues to rage in the country. Dozens of people have been killed with the fire security forces have opened on demonstrators in Homs, Daraa, Damascus and Aleppo. The army operations are also underway in Idlib a village of which is under constant bombardment for being considered the stronghold of the anti-regime forces. With conditions as such, the UN observers have returned to the capital Damascus after their inspection in Daraa. The international community is seeking ways of stopping the violence in Syria.

The wives of the ambassadors of western countries at the UN have written a letter each to the spouse of the Syrian leader Esma Assad urging her to persuade her husband to stop the bloody clamp-down. The Arab League Foreign Ministers at their meeting in Doha also made an appeal to Al Assad to abide by the cease-fire. Steadily becoming isolated in the international arena, Al Assad is trying to manage the situation with a few remaining friends of his. Syrian Foreign Minister Valid Muallim is in China to discuss the latest developments in the country. The Beijing administration excoriated for its support for Damascus has said it will continue hosting more members of the Syrian leadership.