At least six people have been reportedly killed in Syria on Sunday as a proposed peace plan scheduled to go into affect on Saturday appears to have failed to end the violence that has persisted for nearly 8 months in the country. Activists said that five of the deaths occurred in the focal point of the opposition movement in the central Homs province against President Bashar al-Assad. London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a 6th person was killed in Hama during raids. Others on the ground say that live fire was used to remove protesters from a demonstration near the capital, Damascus, and in the country's northern areas. The violence is adding to fears that a peace plan brokered by the Arab League was unraveling only days after Damascus agreed to halt its crackdown. That deal, brokered in Cairo last week, was supposed to move the country toward dialogue, but the Assad regime appears unwilling to abide by any international community demands to end the carnage, which has seen over 5,000 people killed since March 15, according to the London-based organization. State media reported “agreement regarding a final document on the situation in Syria,” without giving details. In recent days, dozens of civilians have been killed, and on Sunday, Syrians had hoped for a reprieve on the first day of the Eid al-Adha festival, but similarly to the first days of Ramadan, the Syrian government is upping its attacks on protesters. The opposition leaders and groups, which have formed in recent months, have nearly unanimously refused to hold dialogue with the government in Damascus, arguing that only the removal of Assad from power will lead to an end to the violence and a better future for Syrians. BM
