UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late Wednesday, April 18 he isn't underestimating the gravity of the situation in Syria but believes there is an opportunity for progress and recommended the Security Council approve a 300-strong U.N. observer mission.
According to The Associated Press, Ban said in a letter to the council that he will consider developments on the ground, including consolidation of the cease-fire, before deciding on when to deploy the expanded mission, which is larger than the 250 observers initially envisioned.
Syria accepted a six-point plan by Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League envoy, to end more than a year of bloodshed and launch political talks to end the conflict. But Ban said President Bashar Assad's government has only partially implemented its commitments.
The UN chief said the level of violence dropped markedly on April 12, the day the cease-fire called for by international envoy Kofi Annan went into effect, but that violent incidents and reported casualties have escalated again in recent days and "the cessation of armed violence in all its forms is therefore clearly incomplete."
At the same time, Ban said, the Syrian government and opposition have continued to express their commitment to a cease-fire and have agreed to cooperate with a UN observer mission.
"I remain deeply concerned about the gravity of the situation in the country," he said. "However, without underestimating the serious challenges ahead, an opportunity for progress may now exist, on which we need to build."
The Security Council authorized an advance team of 30 observers for Syria last Saturday and a small group is already at work.
The secretary-general called on the council to approve an expanded United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria, to be known as UNSMIS, comprising an initial deployment of up to 300 military observers in approximately 10 locations throughout the country, for an initial period of three months.
It would be backed up by support personnel included advisors with political, human rights, civil affairs, public information, public security, gender and other expertise, he said. Ban said this week the mission needs helicopters, and in his letter he reiterated that "appropriate air transport assets" are required "to ensure mobility and capacity to react quickly to reported incidents."
The Security Council was scheduled to discuss Ban's letter and recommendations at a closed meeting Thursday morning.
