Thursday, 19 April 2012

UN and Syria agree on observer protocol


Syria and the UN have reached a preliminary deal on the deployment of observers for the country's ceasefire, officials from both sides said.
A spokesman for peace envoy Kofi Annan said the agreement covered the observers' functions and Syrian government's responsibilities.
It came after the UN secretary general said Syria was failing to comply with its peace plan obligations.
The peace plan aims to end unrest which has killed at least 9,000 people.
Mr Annan's spokesman stressed the importance of the latest deal, but also said there was still a long way to go.
"The hard part lies ahead," the statement said, in order to reach what it called "a truly Syrian-led and -owned political dialogue to address the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Syrian people."
Earlier, in a letter to the UN Security Council, secretary general Ban Ki-moon called for the observer mission to be expanded from the small number already in the country to 300.
There are continued reports of violence in Syria, threatening a ceasefire that began a week ago.
However, Mr Ban also said there was an "opportunity for progress".
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to meet foreign ministers in Paris later to discuss the crisis.

No comments:

Post a Comment