Kofi Annan still seeking answers

DAMASCUS - UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said Wednesday that he had received President Bashar Assad's response to his proposals on ending the yearlong crisis in Syria but there were more questions that needed to be addressed without delay.

The former UN secretary-general had questions about the response from Syrian authorities to his proposals "and is seeking answers," his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.

"But given the grave and tragic situation on the ground, everyone must realize that time is of the essence. As he said in the region, this crisis cannot be allowed to drag on," the spokesman said, giving no further details on the proposals or response.

Also on Wednesday, Syrian authorities said it had given a positive response to Annan's proposals for ending Syria's strife.

"The tone of our reply was positive," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdesi told reporters.

He said that Syria had offered "clarifications" on implementing some of the proposals.

Annan visited Syria over the weekend and had two meetings with Assad. In talks with the Syrian leader, he outlined proposals including a halt to fighting, humanitarian access and starting a political dialogue with the Syrian opposition. He will brief the United Nations Security Council by videoconference on Friday.

As international peace efforts continued, violence and bloodshed showed no sign of abatement.

Government forces clashed with armed groups in central Hama province, leaving a number of gunmen dead and three law-enforcement members wounded.

Meanwhile, the army took over a rebellious city of Idlib province in northwestern Syria Tuesday night after a four-day major offensive.

The United Nations said recently that more than 7,500 people had died in Syria since the violence began a year ago, while the Syrian government said "armed terrorist groups" had killed more than 2,000 army and security personnel during the unrest.

In Ankara, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday that a total of 765 Syrians had escaped from the clashes in their country and entered Turkey as of Tuesday night.

The Syrian refugees entered Turkey via Reyhanli and Yayladagi, towns of Hatay province in southern Turkey and were settled in temporary tent sites which had been set up by Red Crescent.

In reaction to the continued violence, Italy on Wednesday announced the closure of its embassy in Syria and the recall of its staff, joining a string of countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Spain and the United States, which had closed their embassies.