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UN wants 300 observers in Syria
The United Nations wants to send 300 observers to Syria after 30 are set to arrive next week, in order to monitor the cease-fire that appears to be faltering, a spokesman for U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said Friday.
Annan’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, told reporters in Geneva there would be 30 observers in Syria next week, with the goal of ratcheting the number up to 300, according to The Associated Press.
Moving 300 UN observers into Syria would still need to be approved by the UN Security Council.
"As soon as the Security Council adopts a resolution authorizing up to 300 monitors on the ground, we will be ready to deploy very, very rapidly," Fawzi said.
Annan has proposed a six-point peace plan that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to, but repeated reports of violence in Syria threaten to derail the cease-fire that’s a key element of the plan.
As the violence continues, calls for military action have increased. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday that the cease-fire had failed and the international community needed to provide arms and airstrike support to the rebels.
The Obama administration has remained opposed to using military action in Syria, while condemning the continued violence and pushing for a diplomatic solution.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in Paris for a “Friends of Syria” group meeting Thursday, called for “tougher actions” against the Syrian regime and sanctions.
“We have to keep Assad off balance by leaving options on the table,” she said.
