Syrian crowds welcome UN observers

Chanting crowds of anti-regime protesters in rebellious Damascus suburbs have welcomed United Nations observers monitoring the shaky cease-fire.

Meanwhile the European Union imposed new sanctions targeting wealthy backers of President Bashar Assad.

The UN has sent an advance team of eight observers to Syria as part of international envoy Kofi Annan’s plan to end the fighting between Assad’s forces and those seeking to overthrow his regime. More monitors are due to arrive in the coming days, and the UN has authorised a mission of 300 total observers, though it remains unclear when the full contingent will arrive.

Activists said the observer team visited the mountain town of Zabadani, about 20 miles from the capital Damascus, and a spokesman for the team said they were also touring the suburbs of Douma and Harasta.

All three areas have seen frequent anti-government protests and fierce regime crackdowns.

Government troops shelled Douma on Sunday, activists said.

Amateur videos posted online showed four observers wearing blue UN helmets and body army walking in Douma through a crowd of thousands of protesters, who chanted, sang, played drums and waved Syrian flags.

Earlier in the day, they spent about 30 minutes in Zabadani where they talked to people and saw buildings damaged by government attacks.

Rebels seized control of Zabadani in January, successfully repelling regime assaults before losing the town again a month later. The town is believed to be a key transit point for weapons and funding to the Syrian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Many Syrians, as well as Western countries, have voiced scepticism about Assad’s willingness to abide by the cease-fire plan for ending the bloodshed and launching talks between the regime and it opponents.

They say the Syrian leader is largely paying lip service to the truce since full compliance – including withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from populated areas and allowing peaceful demonstrations – could quickly sweep him from power.

Violence appeared to have dropped however, even in the opposition stronghold of Homs, which has been the hardest-hit target of the regime’s assaults. Two UN observers have remained in the city, and activists have reported relatively little violence there in recent days – after daily shelling for months before the observers’ arrival.

In Luxembourg, the European Union banned the sale of luxury goods and products that can have military as well as civilian uses to Syria.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the new set of sanctions – the 14th in the past year – were “because of deep concern about the situation and continuing violence in spite of the cease-fire.”

EU experts will work out later precisely which goods will be included in the new embargo. One of the diplomats said so-called “dual-use” goods can include anything from vehicles to fertilisers and other chemicals.

The only precedent in international relations for the luxury ban is one imposed by the EU in 2007 on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. That ban included foods such as caviar and truffles, high-quality wines and spirits, perfumes and thoroughbred horses.

The sanctions take aim at the wealthy business class that has largely stood by Bashar.