Al-Assad’s broken promise leads to 1,100 killings as deadline passes for peace in Syria

As a United Nations-brokered cease-fire deadline came and went on Tuesday, Syrian forces pounded cities across the nation, opposition activists reported. Nearly 1,100 people have reportedly been massacred since the peace agreement between the United Nations and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. At least 34 people were killed on Tuesday, including 3 children; 20 victims were in the besieged city of Homs, reported opposition Local Coordination Committees (LCC) of Syria. The death toll in Syria continues a shocking surge in violence and atrocities ahead of the deadline for the regime to withdraw.

However, the Syrian government reported it had taken the necessary steps to abide by the peace agreement proposed by U.N. Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. After meeting with Russia’s foreign minister in Moscow, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said, “We did withdraw some military units from some provinces, in accordance with point C of Annan’s plan. And we did allow more than 28 media stations to enter Syria since March 25 … since Syria agreed to Annan’s plan.” Al-Assad’s regime reportedly agreed to the deadline, but demanded that its opponents, whom it calls armed terrorists, put down their weapons. Lieutenant Abdullah Odah of the Free Syrian Army in Istanbul said, “We can’t drop our guns until the regime withdraws from the cities. We didn’t start the mass murder. The regime started it. It has to stop killing, and then automatically we will stop.” According to a United Nations estimate, Syria has killed at least 9,000 people. The LCC puts the death toll at more than 11,000.