Syria might be limping towards normalcy. Irrespective of the fissures on ground, UN special envoy Kofi Annan believes that the truce is working. It is a good sense of optimism from a seasoned diplomat, and could come to harbinger a greater prospect of tranquility.

But the fact is that violence has increased and at least 50 people have been killed over the last couple of days in Damascus, Homs and other flashpoints of the crisis-ridden country. This is why Annan is quite blunt in admitting that little signs of compliance of the ceasefire agreed are evident, and much more remains to be done. Annan’s good sense of speaking in a compromise tone, however, stands in contrast to what Washington has to say. The State Department once again came out with a categorical stance urging President Bashar Al Assad to step down and make way for a pluralistic dispensation. Thus, to this day Assad has been convincingly holding the reins of power and hasn’t dithered much. The disappointment is that more than 9,000 civilians have been killed and more than an estimated million people are displaced. The piecemeal efforts that are only meant to address and calm the international community are no solution, as Syrians deserve a complete sense of peace and prosperity.

With UN observers on ground and a two-way dialogue also underway with the regime in Damascus, nothing much has changed. Sporadic violence is taking its toll daily as both the government and the opposition remain obsessed in a game of finger-pointing. This is no solution, and the situation has further compounded with the arming of local militias who have their own agenda of cutting a pie for themselves. Not all opposition armed gangs are working for liberation from Assad, and certainly few have their own way to go at the expense of civil peace. So is the case with security forces that are unchecked as Damascus is least interested in prosecuting them for crimes against humanity. Thus, incidents of excesses, torture and rape are normally reported with no recourse to rule of law, whatsoever. Annan could do well by orchestrating a new drive of talks that should take him beyond the six-point peace plan. The present policy of tit-for-tat is merely tantamount to disaster. With guns ripping the silence in air, peace cannot be visualised.