International envoy Kofi Annan has announced Syria has accepted a U.N. peace proposal calling for a ceasefire, but the Syrian opposition has dismissed the initiative, saying it will allow the government to continue its repression. The plan includes a ceasefire by Syrian forces and a daily two-hour halt to fighting to evacuate the injured. Despite the announcement, there has been no immediate end to the bloodshed. Fighting has spread into North Lebanon, where Syrian troops reportedly destroyed farm buildings and clashed with Syrian rebels who had taken refuge there.

Kofi Annan: “Time is of the essence. This cannot be allowed to drag on indefinitely. And as I have told the parties on the ground, they cannot resist the transformational winds that are blowing. They have to accept that reforms have to come, change has to come, and that is the only way to deal with the situation.”