Russia plans to send mission amid clashes
MOSCOW
A dead man is seen among damaged buildings in the old city of Homs April 3. Syrian FM Muallem was expected to meet his Russian counterpart Lavrov today. REUTERS photo
Russia said it may send its observers to Syria as part of a U.N. monitoring mission meant to oversee the implementation of U.N. envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan amid fatal clashes between soldiers and rebels in cities near Turkey border. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said yesterday that details of the mission are still being discussed. Fresh fighting killed 13 people yesterday, all but one of them soldiers, according to activists. Rebel fighters besieged a border checkpoint at the village of Salamah, in Aleppo province near Turkey, killing six members of the security and customs services. Syrian forces killed at least 30 people yesterday in the central province of Hama, local activists said. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was expected to arrive in Moscow yesterday and meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov today.
Compiled from AFP, AP and Reuters stories by the Daily News staff.
