Taking Annan by surprise, officials in Damascus announced that a withdrawal of government troops and tanks from population centres would only take place if rebel forces guaranteed in writing that they would lay down their arms.
President Bashar al-Assad's government has backed away from a pledge to complete a troop withdrawal before Tuesday's deadline as the opposition claimed more than 1,000 people had been killed since a United Nations-backed ceasefire deal was struck.
Syria's foreign ministry said that a previous government commitment to halt the fighting by April 10 had been "misinterpreted" by Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League special envoy who drafted the ceasefire plan.
Taking Annan by surprise, officials in Damascus announced that a withdrawal of government troops and tanks from population centres would only take place if rebel forces guaranteed in writing that they would lay down their arms.
"To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, Kofi Annan having not yet presented guarantees on the acceptance by armed groups to a halt of all violence," a Syrian foreign ministry statement said.
Annan accused Damascus of breaking its word. "I am shocked by recent reports of a surge in violence and atrocities in several towns and villages in Syria, resulting in alarming levels of casualties, refugees and displaced persons, in violation of assurances given to me," he said.
Under the terms of the deal, which had not previously been challenged by the Assad regime, the rebels are meant to halt hostilities within 48 hours of the withdrawal by government forces.
"As we get close to the deadline, I remind the Syrian government of the need for full implementation of its commitments and stress that the present escalation of violence is unacceptable," Annan said.
Despite the escalation, senior rebel commanders said they would honour the deal if the government did, but have not done so in writing. "We are committed to the Annan plan," Col Riad al-Asaad said. "We will present our guarantees and our commitments to the international community, but not to this regime."
The apparent shift in policy from Damascus will heighten Western suspicions that Assad never had any intention of abiding by the peace plan. Peter Harling, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said the Assad regime could provide new obstacles to a truce because it has little to fear from the international community.
A fresh government offensive launched at the beginning of the month reached a violent crescendo over the weekend. Col Qassem Saad al-Deen, a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army, said the 1,000 victims were predominantly civilian.
Opposition human rights groups added that more than 160 people had been killed over the past 48 hours.
Fighters from the Free Syrian Army were surrounded in the village of al-Bashiriya, near the border with Turkey. "The army is shelling al-Rouge and helicopters are firing rockets at al-Bashiriya. Tens of people have fallen dead or injured," said Mahmoud Ali, an activist.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}