BICOM

In an attempt to gain Russian and Chinese backing, France has softened a draft UN Security Council statement calling on the Syrian government and the opposition to immediately implement proposals by international envoy Kofi Annan to end the yearlong violence.

The original draft statement called on the council to review implementation of Annan’s six-point proposal in seven days and consider “further measures,” which could have included sanctions or military action if there was no progress. A revised draft, circulated late Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press, dropped the threat, most likely to appease China and Russia, and instead asks Annan to update the council regularly on the progress of his mission.

If there are no objections to the new draft by 1300GMT today the council president, Britain’s UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, will read the statement, signifying its adoption. Presidential statements are not legally binding like council resolutions but they still require approval from all 15 Security Council members to become part of the council’s permanent record.

In related news yesterday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the Syria crisis is the most pressing issue facing the world. “We have no time to waste, no time to lose. Just one minute, one hour delay will mean more and more people dead,” Ban said.

On Wednesday, two large Damascus suburbs came under tank bombardment following attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, according to opposition activists. Artillery and anti-aircraft gun barrages hit the Syrian suburbs of Harasta and Irbin, retaken from rebels by Assad’s forces two months ago.

The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed, but the toll is rising rapidly, with at least 31 men, women and children killed on Tuesday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.