France urges UN to enforce Syria peace plan

France will propose giving the United Nations the power to enforce Kofi Annan’s Syrian peace plan, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, adding a no-fly zone was an option under consideration to stem what was now a civil war.

His comments were the toughest yet from a major power in response to the relentless violence in Syria, where many hundreds of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed since an April 12 ceasefire was supposed open up a chance for political talks to resolve the crisis.

Fabius said he hoped that Russia, which has shielded President Bashar al-Assad from international action over his bloody crackdown on a 15-month-old uprising, would agree to the UN invoking “Chapter 7”, which can authorise use of force.

The plan brokered by Annan, the former UN secretary-general, has failed to halt the bloodshed in Syria, where more than 10,000 people have been killed since early last year.

“We need to move up a gear at the Security Council and place the Annan plan under Chapter 7,” Fabius said. “That is to say, make it compulsory under pain of very heavy sanctions.”

His proposal appeared certain to be opposed by Russia, which says Western and Arab powers misused a UN Security Council resolution last year to justify armed intervention in Libya.

Fabius said one of the options under consideration at the council was a no-fly zone, after increasing reports of Syrian forces using helicopter gunships to fire on rebel strongholds, and US concern that Russia was supplying Damascus with more helicopters.

France will propose toughening sanctions on Syria at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers.

World powers would prepare a list of second-tier military officials who would be pursued by international justice, alongside Assad and his immediate entourage.

“They must understand the only future is in resisting oppression. The time for taking a decision has arrived. They have to jump ship,” Fabius said.

The Syrian government says it is still committed to Annan’s plan, under which it says it has the right to prevent attacks on military or state targets. It says it is fighting foreign-backed terrorists, not a popular uprising backed by armed rebels.

Syrian television said government forces had restored calm and security in Haffeh after they “cleansed it of armed terrorist groups” in a week-long offensive on the region.

Free Syrian Army rebels said they had withdrawn from Haffeh on Tuesday night, but that they feared a massacre of civilians after troops bombarded surrounding villages, then looted and burned them.

Rebel spokesman Selim al-Omar said “heavy shelling by field artillery” had forced out the last 200 rebels defending Haffeh.

“There are several thousand civilians left without anyone to protect them from the Alawite militias surrounding the town.”

UN observers who arrived at the town on Tuesday said they had turned back after their vehicles were fired on and they were threatened by crowds throwing stones and metal rods. Rebels who had crossed into Turkey said at least 50 wounded people had been smuggled across from Haffeh but that many more were trapped by fierce fighting, and being shot at if they tried to get out.