violence escalates ahead of what now looks like a doomed peace deal.
Gunfire targeted a camp near Kilis in the Gaziantep province, as 30
people - mainly women and children - were killed in Syria's central
province of Hama, activists said.
Turkey has summoned the Syrian charge d'affaires and demanded an end
to attacks on Turkish soil.
It is the first such assault since Turkey began taking in thousands of
refugees last summer. More than 24,000 people have crossed from Syria
into Turkey.
Two refugees and a Turkish translator were wounded at the Kilis camp.
At least two more refugees were killed and several injured in attacks
on the Syrian side of the border, officials said.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese television cameraman working for Al-Jadeed was
shot dead on the country's northern border with Syria, the channel's
head of news said.
Ali Shaaban was killed when the channel's film crew came under fire in
the border area of Wadi Khaled, Mariam Bassam told AFP, without
elaborating on the source of fire.
The violence came as a truce plan, devised by UN-Arab League envoy
Kofi Annan, and due to come into effect on Tuesday, foundered.
The plan specifies the withdrawal of Syrian forces from residential
areas, followed by a ceasefire from both sides, within 48 hours.
But on Sunday, Syria's Foreign Ministry made fresh demands - insisting
they will only withdraw troops after a written guarantee from rebels
to lay down their weapons.
That demand was swiftly rejected by the rebels.
Riad al-Asaad, Free Syrian Army commander, said he was ready to abide
by a the pact, but did not recognise the regime and thus "will not
give guarantees" to them.
Annan's spokesman made no comment on the setback and he has not said
what would happen if his deadlines are ignored.
The envoy was due in Turkey today to visit Syrian refugee camps near
the border, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Even before the setback, expectations were low that the Bashar
al-Assad regime would honour the agreement.
Russia, an Assad ally that supports the ceasefire plan, may now be the
only one able to salvage it.
A Russian diplomat said that Moscow was working with the Syrian
authorities to seek an end to violence and the start of talks with
their opponents.
But Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov stopped short of
publicly pressing the government to meet the military withdrawal
deadline.
The rest of the international community, unwilling to contemplate
military intervention, has little leverage over Syria.
However, China, who along with Russia, has provided diplomatic support
for Syria, urged the regime to honour the truce.
"China urges the Syrian government and parties concerned in Syria to
seize the important opportunities, to honour their commitment of
ceasefire and withdrawal of troops," said foreign ministry spokesman
Liu Weimin.
In recent days, instead of preparing for a withdrawal, regime troops
have stepped up shelling attacks on residential areas.
"Mortar rounds are falling like rain," said activist Tarek Badrakhan,
describing an assault in the central city of Homs on Sunday.
He spoke via Skype as explosions were heard in the background. The
regime is exploiting the truce plan "to kill and commit massacres", he
said.
Annan said that the escalation was "unacceptable" but Syria said its
acceptance of the Annan deal last week was misunderstood.
Instead, Assad's government has suggested it would not be able to
withdraw its troops under current conditions.
In addition to requesting written guarantees from the opposition,
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi has made several other
demands.
The Government wants assurances from Annan that Qatar, Turkey and
Saudi Arabia - Assad's most active critics - halt "financing and
arming of terrorist groups".
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are said to be creating a multimillion dollar
fund to pay rebel fighters.
Turkey, meanwhile, has floated the idea of creating buffer zones for
refugees in Syrian territory, near the Turkish border.
Many had expected the Assad regime to stall and create new obstacles
to a truce because it has little to fear from the international
community, say analysts.
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