A series of explosions rocked Syria Saturday, leaving at least five people dead as a U.N. observer mission continued efforts to monitor a frayed cease-fire between the government and the opposition brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred in the northern city of Aleppo after a bomb struck a car wash as a bus was passing by. Activists said two blasts shook Damascus, including one caused by a bomb planted under a military vehicle.  Another explosion destroyed a number of cars.   There were no immediate claims of responsibility. About 40 U.N. observers, currently on the ground in Syria, inspected army posts in the Douma and Harasta neighborhoods of the capital, Damascus, Saturday, while mourners clashed with security forces in the Kafr Souseh neighborhood.  The protests erupted after a funeral for people killed by Syrian forces a day earlier. The violence comes as Syria prepares for parliamentary elections Monday, under constitutional reforms that have allowed the creation of new political parties.     Meanwhile, the head of the U.N. mission in Syria, Norwegian General Robert Mood, told VOA his team has already seen “very specific, concrete steps on the ground,” including a significant reduction in shooting and shelling. Mood said he sees reason for hope because he gets a sense that all the players are eager to move forward on the basis of political solutions.  He added the players see that “the alternative, more violence, more kids being killed, more trouble for families in the hot spots, is a very bad alternative.”   The U.N. mission hopes to have 300 observers in Syria by the end of May. The United Nations estimates at least 9,000 people have been killed in the crackdown on the opposition, while the government says it has lost at least 2,600 of its forces to “foreign-backed terrorists.” The violence has been ongoing since anti-government protests in Syria began more than a year ago. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, days after he stunned the world by escaping from house arrest and taking refuge with U.S. diplomats. China is demanding an apology from the United States over the incident. Neither the U.S. nor Chinese governments would confirm that blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng was in the embassy last week, but both sides confirmed Wednesday that he had left. A U.S. official said Chen had arrived at a medical facility in Beijing and would be reunited with his family. The official said Chen is being allowed to remain in China, in what he described as a ‘safe’ place. He added that the activist made no request for political asylum in the United States. China’s Xinhua news agency said only that Chen had left the U.S. embassy “of his own volition” after staying there for six days. Neither report said where Chen is headed next. Chen’s situation has threatened to overshadow annual high level U.S.-China talks set to start Thursday in the Chinese capital, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Xinhua quoted China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin as expressing strong dissatisfaction at the U.S. Embassy for taking in a Chinese citizen in what he described as an “irregular manner.” The statement accuses the U.S. of interfering in Chinese domestic affairs. It demands an apology from the United States, an investigation into the incident, punishment for those responsible and assurances that it will not happen again. Hong Kong based human rights researcher Joshua Rosenzweig calls China’s demands for an apology “bluster,” and says he believes Beijing is acting this way for the benefit of the domestic audience. “If the Chinese complaint is around the failure to operate according to proper procedures, the Chinese government started this a long time ago by not following proper procedures in the treatment of Chen Guangcheng and his family. I don’t think the Chinese have much ground on which to stand,” Rosenzweig says. Chen is a 40-year-old self-taught lawyer who spent four years in prison after exposing forced abortions and sterilizations by Chinese family planning authorities. He has been confined to his house in Shandong province since he was released from jail in September 2010. Bob Fu, with U.S.-based human rights organization ChinaAid, says local thugs have beaten Chen and his family, which he thinks should have been more than enough reason for them to want to leave the country. “If he feels he can continue to trust the government promise or commitment for his safety out of this event, he may choose to stay,” he says. “But I just feel it’s a huge gamble.” Chen stunned the world when he fled from his tightly guarded house arrest in late April and sought refuge at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Chinese authorities had detained several people who allegedly helped him escape as well as some of Chen’s family members.

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A Norwegian general appointed by the United Nations to lead an observer mission in Syria has taken command of the operation and called on all sides in the country’s year-long conflict to stop the violence. Major General Robert Mood arrived in Damascus Sunday to lead the advance team of about 15 unarmed U.N. soldiers tasked with monitoring an April 12 truce agreement that has been plagued by continued fighting. Speaking to reporters at Damascus airport, General Mood appealed for a “cessation of all armed violence” to help the observers prevent the collapse of the U.N.-backed cease-fire and other parts of a peace plan mediated by international envoy Kofi Annan. The Norwegian general said the U.N. monitors “cannot solve all the problems.” Since the truce took effect, forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have continued attacking opposition hubs across the country, while rebel fighters have carried out ambushes of government security personnel. Each side has accused the other of provoking attacks. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also has accused the Syrian government of using heavy weapons inside civilian areas in defiance of the truce. In the latest violence on Sunday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian security forces shot and killed two people in the central city of Homs and one civilian in the neighboring Hama region. Casualty figures could not be independently confirmed. A spokesman for the U.N. mission in Syria said the observers have set up more permanent bases in opposition hubs targeted by the government’s 13-month violent crackdown on dissent. Neeraj Singh said the U.N. bases now include the towns of Homs, Hama, Daraa and Idlib. Singh also said it is a “matter of utmost urgency” for the United Nations to expand the observer team in Syria to include all of the 300 personnel authorized by the U.N. Security Council. It is unclear when the full contingent will be deployed. General Mood has years of experience in U.N. peacekeeping operations. He led the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) that monitors Middle East cease-fires from 2009 to 2011. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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