UN Observers Prove Little Deterrent to Syrian Attacks
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government forces engaged in an extended game of cat and mouse against United Nations observers on Monday, attacking cities like Hama after the monitors left and adopting a low profile as the monitors visited the Damascus suburbs.
Hama, which had been quiet a day before when the United Nations team visited, boomed repeatedly as shells exploded in the Arbaeen and Mashaa al-Arbaeen neighborhoods, according to activists and videos posted on YouTube. The videos showed plumes of smoke erupting over low, dun-colored houses.
The ability and willingness of government forces to strike civilian centers even with monitors in the country seemed only to confirm widespread feelings in Syria of the futility of the mission. The observers’ unwillingness to rove around the country on Fridays — the day of protest — was the first sign to many among the opposition who saw it as a toothless operation from the start.
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