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BEIJING, June 8 (Reuters) - China called on Friday for both
sides in Syria to end violence and observe a peace plan put
forward by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan, whose efforts were now more
important than ever, as the clamour grows to back tougher action
against the Syrian government.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described as
"unspeakable barbarity" the reported killing of at least 78
villagers by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
and warned that a civil war was imminent.
Ban said hopes for consolidating the peace plan were fading
and Annan himself warned the U.N. Security Council that the
crisis in Syria could soon spiral out of control, diplomats
said. Annan, Ban's predecessor as U.N. secretary-general, called
for "substantial pressure" on Damascus to stop the violence.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin did not answer
repeated questions about whether China endorses Annan's call for
substantial pressure, but said both sides in Syria should stop
the fighting.
"I think the Syrian government and opposition should both
truly shoulder their responsibility and cease fire and halt
violence," Liu told a daily news briefing. "Both sides have this
responsibility because they both undertook this commitment.
"In the current circumstances, we believe that the
importance of envoy Annan's mediation efforts has not diminished
but rather increased," he added. "The support of all sides for
the envoy Annan should strengthen, rather than weaken."
Russia and China - permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council with the power to veto resolutions - have stymied
efforts by Western powers to condemn or call for the removal of
Assad, whose forces, the U.N. says, have killed at least 10,000
people in more than a year of unrest.
"We express strong condemnation of the recent barbarity
involving attacks on innocent civilians, especially women and
children, and we hope that the perpetrators will be punished
according to the law as soon as possible," Liu said.
(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing
by Nick Macfie)