Annan "alarmed" at Syria violence Kofi Annan has told the Security Council that he is "alarmed" at the violence that is spreading across Syria despite the supposed UN-backed ceasefire. The UN special envoy was speaking to a closed-door session with diplomats to express his concern that Syria has failed to comply with a pledge to withdraw weapons from towns and cities. He told the group of his fears that people who meet UN observers risk being killed by opposition forces. He said he was "particularly alarmed" by reports of government forces firing on protesters in Hama, adding: "If confirmed, this is totally unacceptable and reprehensible." Activists said 31 people were killed in shelling and shooting in Hama, a hub of the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, immediately after a visit by a monitoring team. Observers from the fledgling UN mission are maintaining a presence in the central province of Homs, hotbed of the 13-month-old uprising, as part of efforts to silence the guns 12 days after Annan's peace deal was struck.