Annan calls rapid deployment of a UN observer mission

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Annan calls rapid deployment of a UN observer mission

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The persistent bloodshed has sparked growing criticism from opposition activists of the UN mission.

25 April,2012 06:16 am

Envoy Kofi Annan called Tuesday for the rapid deployment of a UN observer mission to quell the violence, as he warned of an unacceptable security situation in Syria despite a ceasefire.The persistent bloodshed has sparked growing criticism from opposition activists of the fledgling UN mission, which now numbers 11 observers out of a planned initial deployment of 30. Another 300 unarmed ceasefire monitors are due to be deployed starting next week.Annan said arrangements are necessary for the rapid deployment of the observer mission, as it may have a positive impact on the situation, diplomats told AFP.Speaking before a closed meeting of the UN Security Council like Annan, UN peace operations chief Herve Ladsous said 100 observers would be in Syria within a month, while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would name the missions chief in the coming days, the diplomats added.They said the top candidate to lead the mission is Norwegian General Robert Mood, who negotiated the deployment with the Syrian regime. All 30 initial monitors will be on the ground by the end of the week, according to Ladsous.Annan, addressing the council via teleconference, said he was concerned about the violence surging after observers visit individual cities. He spoke as a Damascus-based rights group said that nine activists were summarily executed on Monday in the flashpoint city of Hama, a day after they had met the UN observers.Activist Abu Ghazi al-Hamwi said the UN team met members of the martyrs families. But they did not comply with the families requests to visit the mass graves where yesterdays dead had been buried.Video footage posted online by activists showed a street in Hamas Arbaeen neighborhood with large pools of blood and women weeping. Two young girls were shown in one video crying and holding up the picture of a man.The situation in Syria continues to be unacceptable, Annan said, according to diplomats. He spoke after a car bomb rocked central Damascus, wounding three people, while nearly 60 people were killed across the country on Monday.The violence occurred despite an April 12 ceasefire brokered by the former UN chief to halt 13 months of violence that have left over 9,000 people dead, and the presence of an advance team of UN monitors to implement the truce.The UN monitors have toured several protest hubs since their arrival in the country earlier this month, including the battered city of Homs, where two of them set up base at the weekend.During their visits, they have been greeted by thousands of protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad and the arming of the rebel Free Syrian Army.