A video uploaded to a social media website shows that fighting in Syria seems unchanged by President Bashar al-Assad's Sunday address. The rare televised speech outlined a peace plan, but dismissed any chance of dialogue with the armed opposition. The UN chief voiced disappointment over the speech, saying it did not offer a solution that would end the suffering of the Syrian people.
Fighting continues and conflicts unchanged.
One day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outlined a peace plan, rebels pushed into the southern and western suburbs of Damascus, while air strikes have been reported in the cities of Deir al Zor in the east and Aleppo in the north.
British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes between government and rebel forces raged near Damascus International Airport just hours after Assad's speech.
The Observatory, which monitors conditions through a network of activists on the ground, said fighting had continued all night into Monday around the capital.
Through a spokesman, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Assad’s speech doesn’t help resolve the crisis in the country.
Martin Nesirky, spokesman for UN Secretary-General, said,"The Secretary-General was disappointed that the speech by President Bashar al-Assad on 6 January does not contribute to a solution that could end the terrible suffering of the Syrian people. The speech rejected the most important element of the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, namely a political transition and the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers that would include representatives of all Syrians."
The UN chief also reaffirmed his long-held view that "there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria."
His spokesman added that Ban and UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will continue to work for a political transition leading to elections overseen by the UN.