A senior UN peacekeeper was set to take part in talks in Damascus on Thursday to reach an agreement on the deployment of observers across Syria, amid conflicting reports of the situation on the ground.

Norwegian Major-General Robert Mood, who was head of mission for the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in the Middle East, is leading an advance observer team to Damascus. Their aim is to broker a deal that would allow 250 observers to be deployed acrosss Syria to comply with the plan for heavy weapons to be withdrawn from Syrian cities.

Unclear direction

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said the withdrawal was already under way. "Kofi Annan is continuing his efforts, the Syrian side has begun withdrawing forces from cities. The main thing now is for all sides to carry out Annan's proposals," Gatilov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Syrian authorities were also reported to have said that troops were being withdrawn from three areas - Deraa, Idlib and Zabadani, the Reuters news agency reported Ahmad Fawzi, the spokesman for special UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, as saying.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, however, said there was still no indication that the withdrawal was under way ahead of an agreed deadline.

"The Syrian authorities have said they will do that by April 10," Hague said. "There is no sign of them doing it so far. Attacks on the citizens, the civilians of their country have continued, the murder, oppression, and torture of the regime has continued."

Red Cross visits

On a positive note, Syria has reportedly agreed to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to expand its work in Syria and seek a pause in fighting when necessary to get the wounded out of harm’s way.

If true, this would mean a resumption of ICRC official visits to detention centres, stalled since September.

Clashes continue

Activists reported on Wednesday that there was still heavy shelling near to Douma, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus - with 80 people reported killed in 24 hours according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Heavy fighting is raging inside the area between army defectors and Syrian troops. Sounds of heavy explosions and machine guns can be heard there," said the group.

The human rights group Amnesty International said that, according to its count, 232 people had died as a result of fighting since Annan's plan was accepted by Syria on March 27.

Reports from Turkey on Thursday placed the number of refugees crossing the border from the country’s southern neighbour at between 800 and more than 1,000 in the past 24 hours.

rc/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)