As the United Nations Security Council takes on a packed schedule in June, Syria will be "one of the most pressing issues" on its agenda, Li Baodong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said Monday.

"The Syrian issue now is at a very critical moment. The political process to solve the Syrian crisis is at a crossroads," Li told reporters as he assumed the rotating presidency of the council for this month.

"China strongly condemns what happened in Houla. Whoever did that should be brought to justice," said Li, adding that the 15-member council should maintain "unswerving support" to international mediation efforts in Syria.

The diplomat was referring to a massacre in the western Syrian village of Houla on May 25 that killed at least 108 people, nearly half of them children. Other Arab countries and Western powers have blamed government-backed militias for the attack, but Syria's President Bashar al-Assad insisted in a speech on Sunday that his government wasn't responsible.

Western news reports cited the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying doctors in and near Houla had confirmed the names of 80 government soldiers killed by the rebels.

The carnage in Houla, near the city of Homs and Syria's border with Lebanon, "has caused collateral damage to Kofi Annan's mediation effort, and also presents a huge challenge to the international community," Li said.

"And also it presents a huge challenge to the international community," he added.

Annan, the former UN secretary general, has represented the world body and the Arab League in pushing Assad's forces and rebel fighters to adopt a cease-fire. On Monday, rebels said they were no longer bound by the agreed-upon truce because Assad, in their view, had failed to observe their June 1 deadline for implementing the agreement.

"We have decided to end our commitment to this (cease-fire)," Free Syrian Army spokesman Major Sami al-Kurdi was quoted by Reuters as saying. "We have resumed our attacks but we are doing defensive attacks which means we are only attacking checkpoints in the cities."

Annan is scheduled to brief the Security Council and the UN General Assembly on Thursday about the crisis in Syria. On Friday he is due to discuss Syria at a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the State Department announced.

The United States has pressed the Security Council to intervene militarily in Syria, possibly through buffer or no-fly zones, as rebel leaders have requested, while Russia and China have opposed direct involvement.

Last week, the council issued a statement to condemn "in the strongest possible terms" the killing of civilians in Houla, urging the Syrian government to stop using heavy weapons and withdraw its troops from population centers.

Annan, who visited Syria's capital, Damascus, last week, said there are 291 military observers and over 90 trained civilian staff in the UN mission in Syria, able to move freely throughout the country and provide objective reports that can inform the council.

But at a gathering of Arab leaders in Qatar over the weekend, Annan stressed that his six-point plan, which besides the cease-fire calls for Assad's regime and opposition rebels to begin political talks, isn't being implemented.

"The situation is complex, and it takes everyone involved in the crisis to act responsibly if the violence is to stop," he said. "But the first responsibility lies with the Syrian government, and with President Assad."

China's Li called for the council and the international community to send a "strong and unified message" on Syria and to support Annan's peace plan. In addition to Syria, Li said the council in June will also deal with the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan, with briefings set for June 14 and 28. On Tuesday it will conduct an open briefing on the situation in Darfur and the International Criminal Court.

yuweizhang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 06/05/2012 page1)