Russia drafts surprise UN resolution on Syria

Russia has toughened its stance on Syria, drafting a surprise United Nations Security Council resolution on the violence in the country, Al Jazeera reported.

In the proposal, Russia strongly condemns the violence by "all parties,” including what it termed the “disproportionate use of force by Syrian authorities."

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While western nations on Friday welcomed the move aimed at resolving the country's crisis, they said the document fell short because it did not mention sanctions, the BBC reported.

Both Russia and China have vetoed efforts by western countries to have the UN Security Council act on the crackdown on protests by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The draft called on all parties in Syria to "immediately stop any violence irrespective of where it comes from," Al Jazeera reported.

It comes a day after activists said army defectors in Syria killed 27 soldiers and members of Syria's security forces, Agence France Presse reported.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the soldiers died during three separate clashes in the southern province of Daraa, at dawn on Thursday.

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The group also said 21 civilians had been killed across the country on Wednesday, mainly in the north-western province of Idlib and in the cities of Homs and Damascus.

Also on Thursday, Human Rights Watch said it had identified 74 Syrian commanders and intelligence officials who ordered troops to indiscriminately shoot unarmed protesters.

The claims were made in a report based on interviews with former soldiers who defected from the Syrian army.

The report said the military officers “ordered, authorized, or condoned widespread killings, torture, and unlawful arrests."