UN team of monitors arrives in Damascus
Source: Agencies |
April 17, 2012, Tuesday
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AN advance team of United Nations observers was negotiating the ground rules with Syrian authorities yesterday for monitoring the country's 5-day-old cease-fire.
Even though the overall level of violence across Syria has dropped significantly since the truce took effect, government attacks on the opposition stronghold of Homs over the weekend raised doubts about President Bashar Assad's commitment to special envoy Kofi Annan's plan to end 13 months of violence and launch talks on the country's political future.
The advance team of six UN monitors arrived in Damascus on Sunday night. Annan's spokesman said the team, led by Moroccan Colonel Ahmed Himmiche, met yesterday with Syrian Foreign Ministry officials to discuss ground rules, including what freedom of movement the observers would have. Ahmad Fawzi said the remaining 25 observers are expected to arrive in the coming days.
The Security Council demanded full freedom of movement for the UN team.
Fawzi said in a statement in Geneva yesterday the mission "will start with setting up operating headquarters, and reaching out to the Syrian government and the opposition forces so that both sides fully understand the role of the UN observers."
"We will start our mission as soon as possible and we hope it will be a success," Himmiche said.
The international community hopes UN observers will be able to stabilize the cease-fire, which formally took effect last Thursday, although pockets of violence have persisted.
Even though the overall level of violence across Syria has dropped significantly since the truce took effect, government attacks on the opposition stronghold of Homs over the weekend raised doubts about President Bashar Assad's commitment to special envoy Kofi Annan's plan to end 13 months of violence and launch talks on the country's political future.
The advance team of six UN monitors arrived in Damascus on Sunday night. Annan's spokesman said the team, led by Moroccan Colonel Ahmed Himmiche, met yesterday with Syrian Foreign Ministry officials to discuss ground rules, including what freedom of movement the observers would have. Ahmad Fawzi said the remaining 25 observers are expected to arrive in the coming days.
The Security Council demanded full freedom of movement for the UN team.
Fawzi said in a statement in Geneva yesterday the mission "will start with setting up operating headquarters, and reaching out to the Syrian government and the opposition forces so that both sides fully understand the role of the UN observers."
"We will start our mission as soon as possible and we hope it will be a success," Himmiche said.
The international community hopes UN observers will be able to stabilize the cease-fire, which formally took effect last Thursday, although pockets of violence have persisted.
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