Syria: UN visits Haffa but finds it deserted and a ‘stench of dead bodies’

A statement from the UN mission added that “a strong stench of dead
bodies was in the air and there appeared to be pockets in the town were
fighting is still ongoing.”

A woman from the town, who gave her name as Bint al-Gabal, said: “There
are not more than 100 people who stayed in the city. Haffa is now a city of
ghosts.” The Syrian air force had bombed the hospital and many other
buildings, she added.

As the death toll has mounted, Western states have spoken with increasing
urgency of the need to salvage the peace plan brokered by Kofi Annan, the
international envoy to Syria, that led to the deployment of the monitors.

But an international rift between the West and Russia over how this should be
done shows no sign of ending.

The major powers said they were working to try to convene a crisis meeting on
Syria in Geneva on June 30 to try to revive the plan, but even this has
proved divisive amid a row over whether Iran should be allowed to attend.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, made a fresh attempt to persuade Moscow
to be more supportive as he held talks with Sergei Lavrov, his Russian
counterpart, in Kabul.

The Foreign Secretary also met Iranian officials, the most high-level contact
with Tehran since the British embassy there was stormed last November.

As they talked, the violence in Syria continued to rage, with 35 more deaths
reported yesterday across the country.

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