By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian state-run newspaper accused U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday of encouraging “terrorist” rebel attacks by focusing
bus that was attacked by an explosion in the Midan neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on Friday April 27, 2012. A suicide
bomber blew himself up across the street from a mosque in the Syrian capital Friday, killing several people and wounding 20,
state TV said. Thousands of Syrians protested elsewhere to denounce persistent violence by President Bashar Assad's
regime. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
his criticism on the government, while other government media reported that the navy foiled an
infiltration attempt by gunmen who tried to land on the Syrian coast in rubber boats.
The editorial in Tishrin daily
came a day after Ban said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s continued crackdown on protests has reached an “intolerable
stage.” It also followed what the state media said was a suicide attack in Damascus that left 10 dead.
Ban said the
U.N. will try to speed up the deployment of up to 300 monitors to Syria. Only 15 are there now.
The Syrian comments
were the harshest against the U.N. since a plan brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan proposed an April 12 cease-fire to be
followed by peace talks. Since that date, the U.N. has said the regime has broken many of its truce promises, such as
withdrawing forces from towns and cities. Rebel fighters have also kept up attacks on Syrian security forces.
Annan’s
plan aims to end the country’s 13-month crisis that has so far killed more than 9,000 people according to the
U.N..
Tishrin said Ban has avoided discussing rebel violence in favor of “outrageous” attacks on the Syrian
government. “The continued disregard of the international community and its cover for armed groups’ crimes and terrorist
acts … is considered as direct participation in facilitating and carrying out the terrorism to which Syria is subjected,”
the editorial said.
“Such a stance seemingly encourages those groups to go on committing more crimes and terrorist
acts,” Tishrin said.
The Syrian capital was hit by four explosions Friday that left at least 11 people dead and dozens
wounded. Assad’s government blamed the blasts on “terrorists,” the term the government uses to describe opposition forces
that it says are carrying out a foreign conspiracy.
On Saturday, the country’s state-run news agency said military
units stationed off the Mediterranean foiled an infiltration attempt by “armed groups” from the sea in the early hours of the
day. SANA said the navy forced the boats to flee, but a Syrian service member was killed and several others
wounded.
Saturday’s attempt was the first reported rebel infiltration from the sea. Syrian authorities have said in
the past that they clashed with infiltrators trying to cross from neighboring Lebanon or Turkey.
In Lebanon, military
prosecutor Saqr Saqr told The Associated Press that the army confiscated weapons that were found aboard a ship off the
Lebanese coast. Saqr added that an investigation is under way, adding that the 11 crew members are being questioned by the
Lebanese military police.
On Friday’s Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Lebanese authorities intercepted
a ship off the coast near the northern city of Tripoli called “Lutfallah II” suspected of carrying the weapons.
The
ship was coming from Libya, via Egypt and then to the port of Tripoli apparently on its way to Syria, NNA said.
The
ship was taken to the port of Selaata, north of Beirut, where three containers where the weapons were believed to be hidden
were seen being placed on Lebanese army flatbed trucks and taken away Saturday morning.
