UN, US Condemn Syrian Bombing

Posted May 9th, 2012 at 2:20 pm (UTC-5)
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The bombing of a Syrian convoy that included U.N. monitors is drawing condemnation from the United Nations, as well as the United States.

A statement from the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the blast, and other violence throughout Syria, “call into question the commitment of the parties to the cessation of violence.”

None of the monitors was wounded by the roadside blast Wednesday in the southern city of Dara'a.

Observer mission leader Norwegian Major General Robert Mood was part of the convoy and condemned the attack. He is quoted by his spokesman as saying it was “an example of what the Syrian people were suffering on a daily basis” and that “all forms of violence must stop.” The Syrian government said the blast injured 10 of its soldiers acting as escorts.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the bombing “another example of why we have got to continue to put the pressure on the Assad regime.” She “the bulk of the responsibility” for the violence is in the hands of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.N. mission is trying to enforce a shaky cease-fire between government forces and rebels.

There were also reports Wednesday of fighting in parts of Damascus and near the Lebanese border.

U.N. observers have been fanning out across Syria to monitor compliance with the cease-fire, which is part of a peace plan negotiated by international envoy Kofi Annan.

The Syrian government on Wednesday resumed vote-counting from Monday's parliamentary elections that opposition groups dismissed as a sham.

The government has blamed armed terrorist groups for much of the unrest.

The United Nations says more than 9,000 people have been killed in violence related to the anti-government uprising which erupted more than a year ago.