U.N. chief says Syria has not fully complied with peace plan

Syria is not complying with its pledge to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from towns, the United Nations said Thursday, as it highlighted the need for the government to fully commit to a proposed peace plan.
The nation marks a week since a United Nations-brokered truce went into effect.
While violence abated in some areas following the April 12 cease-fire, the government has not fully met a requirement to recall troops and heavy weapons from residential areas, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said in a letter addressed to the Security Council.
CNN obtained an advance copy of the letter, which will be distributed Thursday.
The cease-fire is part of a six-point proposal by international envoy Kofi Annan that includes withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from population centers and allowing humanitarian access into the nation.
"Action on other aspects of the six-point plan remains partial, and while difficult to assess, it does not amount yet to the clear signal expected from the Syrian authorities," Ban said.
An advance team of United Nations observers is in the country as part of a monitoring mission, with a total of 30 unarmed monitors expected in the coming days.
 Activist confirms unrest, despite U.N.
"It has commenced liaison with the parties and is beginning to report on the cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties," Ban said.
 U.N. wives plea to Syria's first lady
He called for Syria's observer mission to be expanded to 300, a day after Syria said it would allow 250 monitors into the nation.
 Sec. Clinton: Assad running out of time
"The presence of 250 international observers is logical and possible," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Wednesday during a visit to Beijing.
 Syrian rebels rearm during cease-fire
The nation saw an ebb in violence after President Bashar al-Assad pledged to enforce the truce, but the regime continues to attack opposition strongholds, including the cities of Homs and Hama, according to anti-government activists.
Reports of violence and shelling of residential areas have escalated again in recent days, and the government has blamed the attacks on armed groups, the United Nations chief said.
"The cessation of armed violence in all its forms is therefore clearly incomplete," Ban said. " At the same time, in accordance with their acceptance of the six-point plan, the parties have continued to express their commitment to a cessation of armed violence in all its forms."
 Is Syria's President a war criminal?
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist network, cited an instance it said government forces shot at protesters Wednesday as United Nations observers witnessed in a suburb of the capital of Damascus.
 Rice on Syria: Reason to be skeptical
However, Ban said, monitors witnessed the incident in Arbeen where a tense crowd of opposition protesters "forced" United Nations cars to a checkpoint.
 Homs, Syria, under a shaky cease-fire
"Subsequently, the crowd was dispersed by firing projectiles," he said. "Those responsible for the firing could not be ascertained by the United Nations military observers."
 Syrian refugees too scared to return
Opposition groups also reported "intensified sporadic arrests" -- with at least 39 detained since the cease-fire despite a provision in the peace plan that calls for the release of those detained during the protests.
CNN cannot independently verify reports of violence and deaths, as the government has severely restricted access by international media.
Syria has been engulfed in violence for 13 months as a national uprising spread, while the government cracked down on peaceful protests. The United Nations estimates that at least 9,000 people have died since the protests began, while others put the death toll at more than 11,000.
Al-Assad's regime has blamed terrorists for the violence, but activist groups have cited daily killings by government forces.
Annan's peace plan includes an end to fighting between government forces and the opposition, withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from residential areas, humanitarian and journalists' access, and dialogue between the warring sides to ensure a political transition.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the focus remains on implementing the peace plan, which is supported by the U.N. Security Council, the Arab League and Syria.
"What I'm doing now is trying to see whether or not he is going to implement Kofi Annan's plan, and I don't think it's useful to do anything other than focus on the six points of the plan," Clinton told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "Right now, it doesn't appear once again that he is going to follow through on what he has pledged to the international community he will do. "