Syria announced that it will cease military operations against rebel fighters from today, the day set by peace envoy Kofi Annan as the deadline for a halt to 13 months of bloodshed.

We will judge the Assad regime by what it does, not by what it says

Annan said he had received a written pledge from Damascus that regime forces would halt their operations from dawn, provided they did not come under attack.

But Washington voiced scepticism about the announcement, saying Damascus needed to match its words with deeds after regime forces pounded protest centres anew yesterday, killing 14 civilians, according to monitors.

“It has been decided to stop these (military) operations from Thursday morning,” state television quoted a defence ministry official it did not identify as saying.

The decision was taken after regime forces “completed successful operations in combating the criminal acts of the armed terrorist groups and enforced the state’s rule over its territory,” the official added.

Armed forces will “remain on standby to retaliate against any attack by the armed terrorist groups against civilians, the security services, armed forces, or private or public property,” the official said.

Annan received a letter from Foreign Minister Walid Muallem setting out the undertaking in writing, his spokesman said.

Damascus promised to “cease all military fighting throughout Syrian territory as of 4 a.m. tomorrow, while reserving the right to respond proportionately to any attacks carried out by armed terrorist groups against civilians, government forces or public and private property’.”

The UN and Arab League envoy had expressed cautious optimism that his peace plan could still be salvaged, despite the renewed bloodshed yesterday.

But Washington said the Damascus regime would be judged by its actions not its words after broken promises in the past.

“We will judge the Assad regime by what it does, not by what it says,” State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said.

“Meanwhile, the violence rages on today.”

Regime forces killed at least 14 civilians in bombardments of rebel neighbourhoods in the flashpoint central city of Homs and other protest hubs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.