Syria to withdraw troops from cities: UN-Arab league envoy

Annan announced on Monday that Damascus has accepted a deadline to start implementing his proposed plan to settle the Syrian unrest.

The former UN chief, who briefed the 15-member Security Council by videoconference from Geneva behind closed doors, was quoted as saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed on the April 10 deadline to put the plan to work.

"The Syrians have told us they have put a plan in place for withdrawing their army units from populated zones and surrounding areas. This plan ... will be completed by April 10," Annan's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in Geneva.

"If we are able to verify this has happened on the 10th, then the clock starts ticking on the cessation of hostilities, by the opposition as well. We expect both sides to cease hostilities within 48 hours," he added.

Annan met Assad in Damascus on March 10 and presented him with a six-point plan calling for the military pullout.

On Sunday, several Persian Gulf Arab states and the United States pledged 100 million dollars to provide salaries and communications equipment for Syrian rebels fighting against the government.

The countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, made the offer at an Istanbul conference of the “Friends of Syria”, a grouping of some 70 Western and Arab countries, which Damascus calls the "enemies of Syria”.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including security forces, have lost their lives in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing the protesters. But Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, stating that it is being orchestrated from abroad.