Damascus, May 2: Ten civilians killed by regime mortar fire and 12 troops died in clashes with rebels were among 30 dead in Syria yesterday just hours after a new UN call for all sides to respect a troubled truce.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said it was vital that government and opposition alike cooperate fully with a hard-won UN observer force as it fans out in its mission to shore up the ceasefire agreement that took effect on April 12.
And UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous went a step further, accusing both sides of violating the putative truce.
Despite Ban's appeal, human rights monitors reported no let-up in the violence, a day after a series of blasts condemned by Ban as “terrorist bomb attacks” killed more than 20 people in the northwestern city of Idlib.
Nine members of a single family were among the 10 killed in regime bombardment of a village in Idlib province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A mortar round slammed into their home in Mashmashan village near the town of Jisr al-Shughur, the watchdog said, adding that four women and two children were among the dead.
Elsewhere in the same province, random gunfire killed a 13-year-old boy in the town of Maaret al-Numan.
In Deir Ezzor province in the northeast, 12 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebel fighters, said the watchdog.
In other incidents around the country, another seven people died.
Ban called on all sides to work with the UN observer mission as it expands from 30 now to a promised full complement of 300 in the coming days and weeks.
