UN votes to expand observer numbers in Syria

A resolution expanding the number of UN observers in Syria from 30 to 300 and demanding an immediate halt to violence has been approved by the UN Security Council today.

Fighting has been escalating since a ceasefire took effect over a week ago

It gives Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon authority to decide when to deploy the additional observers, based on developments on the grounds including "the consolidation of the ceasefire".

Ban has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of failing to honour the ceasefire, expressing dismay at the upsurge in violence.

The resolution merges rival Russian and European texts and dropped a European threat of non-military sanctions if Syria fails to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from towns and cities.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council that the resolution is "of fundamental importance to push forward the peace process in Syria" and to support the six-point peace plan negotiated by international envoy Kofi Annan.

Britain's UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the expanded observer mission and Annan's proposal "represents the last opportunity to secure a solution to the crisis in Syria".

"It is an unprecedented step to deploy unarmed UN personnel into such a dangerous environment," Lyall Grant said. "It is fraught with risk. The mission will fail in its task if the regime continues to violate its commitments and obstructs the work of the mission."

The resolution establishes a United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria, to be known as UNSMIS, "comprising an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers as well as an appropriate civilian component" for an initial period of 90 days.

The Russians had called for a limited civilian component, while the Europeans wanted to spell out the skills required of the civilians, including political, human rights, civil affairs and public security.

The key difference in the original texts was whether there should be any conditions for deployment of the expanded force.

The Europeans wanted the secretary-general to determine "to his satisfaction" that Syria has implemented its pledge to send troops and heavy weapons back to their barracks. The Russian draft had no conditions.

The compromise language in the resolution says the expanded mission "shall be deployed expeditiously subject to assessment by the secretary-general of relevant developments on the ground, including the consolidation of the cessation of violence".

France's UN Ambassador Gerard Araud said yesterday that the Security Council wants to send the observers as quickly as possible but "at the same time, we have to take into account the danger for the observers - so that's the reason why the secretary-general will have to assess the situation on the ground".

"It's a new type of mission," Araud explained to reporters. "It's a first time that the UN is sending in a war zone observers, because there is still fighting ... there is still violence."

The issue of the use of helicopters and aircraft by the UN mission will likely dominate discussions in the coming days.

The initial Russian draft resolution made no mention of helicopters but the European version underlined the need for the Syrian government "to agree rapidly" with the UN on "the independent use of air assets" by the expanded force.

The final text underlines "the need for the Syrian government and the United Nations to agree rapidly on appropriate air transportation assets for UNSMIS".

Unlike most resolutions that call for reports to the Security Council in 30 days, the resolution adopted today calls for reports every 15 days.

Araud said this will enable the council to react "if things are going bad," not only politically and on the ground, but "we are also in charge of the lives of our observers."

Seven of the advance observers are already on the ground, another two will arrive on Monday, and the UN hopes to have rest of the advance team of 30 in Syria next week, Annan's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.

Members of the advance team are being borrowed from UN missions in the region so they can deploy quickly, he said. The UN said the observers already in Syria come from Morocco, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia and Norway.

The preliminary agreement between Syria and the United Nations on the deployment of UN observers says they will have freedom to go anywhere in the country by foot or by car, take pictures, and use technical equipment to monitor compliance with the ceasefire.

The observers, who report to Annan daily, will have freedom to access detention centres and medical centres in co-ordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian authorities, the agreement says.