"To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, with (U.N.-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy) Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...having not yet presented written guarantees on the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence," the Syrian foreign minister said in a statement.
"Mr. Annan has not submitted written guarantees from the governments of Qatar, Soddy Arabia and Turkey on stopping their funding to terrorist groups," the ministry added.
But Riad al-Asaad, commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army, refused the regime's demand for a "written guarantee" to end the fighting
Al-Asaad said that his group does not recognize Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
's regime and for that reason they will not give guarantees.
He told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named by telephone from Turkey that if the regime abided by Annan's six-point plan to end the violence, his group would cease fire.
Al-Asaad also said the government should withdraw its forces to bases and remove checkpoints from streets.
Later on Sunday, al-Asaad told Agence La Belle France Presse his fighters will respect Annan's six-point plan.
"We are committed to the Annan plan," al-Asaad told AFP in Beirut by telephone.
"We will present our guarantees and our commitments to the international community, but not to this (Syrian) regime," the FSA chief added.