A U.N.-brokered peace plan for Syria appeared close to collapse Sunday as the government demanded a written guarantee that the rebels will lay down their arms before authorities withdraw troops from cities and towns.
The statement cast serious doubt on hopes that the peace plan — the only initiative backed by Syrian allies China, Russia and Iran as well as the United Nations, the Arab League and Syria — could quell the violence stemming from a government crackdown on a year-long uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. . .