Report: Syria forces kill 5 despite ceasefire
Five killed by Syrian regime forces despite truce deadline, Al Jazeera reports; UN chief: 'Onus is on Syria' to fulfill ceasefire terms
Five people were killed by Syrian security forces on Thursday despite a UN-backed ceasefire that was set to take effect at dawn, Al Jazeera reported. Members of the opposition in the country said that President Bashar Assad's troops have yet to retreat from major cities.
"There is no evidence of a significant withdrawal," the Syrian National Council's spokeswoman Basma Kodmani told a news briefing in Geneva.
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"The ceasefire is ... only partially observed ... To us it is clear that ceasefire implied withdrawal of all heavy weaponry from cities, populated areas. This has not happened."
Anti-Assad protests took place in the cities of Daraa and Idlib, which were among the sites reportedly still under fire.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that the "onus is on Syria" to keep the government's promise and hold to a ceasefire.
According to Ban, "as of this moment, the situation looks calmer" on the ground in Syria but that the cease-fire Thursday is "very fragile" and may be broken anytime.
"The world is watching, however, with skeptical eyes, since many promises previously made by the government of Syria have not been kept," he told reporters.
Bomb kills officer in Aleppo
Meanwhile, the Syrian regime accused "terrorists" of planting a roadside bomb that blew up in Aleppo, killing one officer and wounding at least 24 cadets and officers in an attempt to sabotage the ceasefire, state media reported.
Syrian tanks in Damascus suburb
"At eight in the morning a terrorist group targeted a bus carrying a number of officers driving to work in Aleppo," it said. The blast killed a lieutenant-colonel and civilians were among the wounded.There was no independent confirmation of the blast.
The Syrian news agency SANA also said a member of Assad's Baath party was killed in a drive-by shooting in the city of Deraa during the morning.
Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the sound of explosions in the town of Zabadani, close to the border with Lebanon, shortly after the 6 am (0300 GMT) deadline expired, but said it was not clear what had caused the blasts.
A resident of the town said there had been shelling of the town overnight, but that she heard nothing after the deadline. Other activists in the cities of Hama, Homs and Damascus said the situation was calm.
Syria's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it would halt operations on Thursday morning, but made no mention of an army pullback from cities and said it would confront "any assault" by armed groups. Attacks on opposition neighbourhoods over the last week have fuelled doubts it would comply with the truce.
Roi Kais contributed to the report
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