UN peace deal condemned as Assad troops fire over border

Turkey declared yesterday (Monday) that a UN-backed initiative to end the crisis in Syria was dead, after President Bashar al-Assad's troops opened fire across its border and into Lebanon.

The skirmishes between soldiers and rebels, which claimed the lives of two Syrian refugees and a Lebanese reporter, came just hours before a ceasefire deadline came into force. They marked the first time that Syria's violence has spilled outside its territory.

The Turkish government, which has already threatened to take military action to protect its border, summoned Syria's envoy to Ankara to demand an explanation.

According to Turkish officials, Syrian troops pursued rebels across the border following an attack on a checkpoint that killed six soldiers. Two Syrian nationals, described as civilians, were shot dead as they tried to escape to the nearby Kilis refugee camp.

It was unclear whether the two victims had already crossed the frontier but five more people - including a Turkish policeman - were later shot and wounded, this time indisputably on Turkish soil.

Shortly afterwards, Lebanon's Al-Jadeed television network said that one of its cameramen, Ali Shabaan, died after Syrian troops opened fire on his car on the Lebanese side of the border. A colleague in the vehicle was wounded.

Lebanon's government, which is dominated by the Shia Islamist - and Assad-funded - Hizbollah, is unlikely to protest too vigorously, although the incident could prove destabilising in a country whose Sunni and Christian populations deeply resent Syrian influence.

Turkey will prove much less malleable. One of the Assad regime's most implacable critics in the region, it has been vocal in its scepticism of a peace plan brokered by Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria, that is meant to reach fruition this week. Under the terms of the initiative, the Syrian government has a deadline of today to withdraw its troops and heavy weapons from cities and towns, and the rebels are required to end all attacks when a full ceasefire is supposed to come into force 48 hours later.

However, ever since Annan announced that Syria had accepted the peace plan last Monday, the country has been convulsed by some of its worst bloodshed since the uprising against Assad began a year ago.

Hundreds of people, mostly civilians but also soldiers and rebels, have reportedly been killed as the government launched a countrywide offensive to flush out opposition supporters.

More than 100 people were killed yesterday, according to opposition human rights groups, including 30 civilians in an army artillery assault on al-Latmana, a town in the central province of Hama. Syrian helicopter gunships also attacked a nearby village.

A dozen soldiers were also killed in rebel attacks elsewhere in the country.

The violence of the past week has prompted a surge in refugees fleeing into Turkey, which houses 25,000 Syrians in camps close to the border. With a further 200,000 displaced within Syria, Turkey fears the number of refugees will grow sharply despite the efforts of Assad's troops to mine the borders.

In response to Turkey's warnings that it will soon need international assistance, Annan is due to tour some of the refugee camps today.

Naci Koru, Turkey's deputy foreign minister, said the visit would be used to make the point that the peace plan was effectively dead. "April 10 has become void," he said. "After Kofi Annan's visit a new stage will start."

Turkey, which already provides sanctuary to rebel units, has previously proposed mounting a military incursion into Syria to create a buffer zone but failed to win American support for the idea. However, what little leeway Assad had with his Western detractors is dissipating fast after his government backed away on Sunday from its commitment to withdraw troops, saying it would only do so if it received a written pledge from the rebels that they would also disarm. "Adding new conditions at this stage is totally unacceptable," said Baroness Ashton, the European Union foreign minister.

Human Rights Watch said yesterday that it had documented the executions of at least 85 civilians, including women and children, and 16 captured rebel fighters since late last year. The group said it believed hundreds more executions had also taken place. "In a desperate attempt to crush the uprising, Syrian forces have executed people in cold blood, civilians and opposition fighters alike," said Ole Solvang, a researcher for the group. "They are doing it in broad daylight and in front of witnesses, evidently not concerned about any accountability."