United Nations, Jumada I 11, 1433, Apr 3, 2012, SPA - U.S., British and French envoys said they would seek Tuesday to hold Syria to its pledge to remove government troops from population centers by April 10. The withdrawal of the security forces would pave the way for a general cease-fire, Kofi Annan, the joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, was quoted as saying by the United Press International (UPI). The U.S., British and French envoys have drafted a Security Council statement, to be circulated among the council's 15 members, warning of additional actions against Syria if the regime fails to comply with President Bashar Assad's pledge to halt the use of heavy weapons in residential areas and to withdraw forces from in and around major population centers by next week, the diplomats said. Annan has called for the council to publicly endorse the April 10 deadline as a means of pressuring Syria to respect it, said diplomats who were in a closed-door briefing conducted with Annan from abroad by satellite, the New York Times reported. Annan, a former U.N. secretary-general, also asked the Security Council to develop contingency plans to deploy U.N. observers to Syria in case the cease-fire happens, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told reporters. --SPA 15:23 LOCAL TIME 12:23 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/985401