UN peacekeeping team to arrive in Syria April 3, 2012 - 15:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An advance team from the UN peacekeeping department is expected in Damascus within 48 hours to discuss deployment of observers to monitor a ceasefire in Syria, the spokesman for international mediator Kofi Annan said on Tuesday, April 3, Reuters reported. "A DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) planning mission should be arriving in Damascus within 48 hours," spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told Reuters in Geneva. As part of the six-part peace plan put forward by Annan to halt the fighting, UN peacekeepers are planning for a ceasefire monitoring mission that would have 200 to 250 unarmed observers. It would require a Security Council resolution. Syria has pledged to withdraw all military units from towns by April 10 to pave the way for a ceasefire with rebels two days later, though Western envoys were skeptical on Monday about Damascus' intent to halt its year-long assault on opponents. Annan, joint special envoy of the United Nations and Arab League who is based in Geneva, briefed the Security Council on the deadline by videolink on Monday. "Mr. Annan is grateful for the Russian and Chinese support and the unity that the Security Council again has shown in backing his plan and ensuring its implementation," Fawzi said. Partner news  Top stories Among its provisions are bans on child marriage and the traditional practice of selling and buying women to settle disputes. Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander, led Argentina during the bloodiest days of its Dirty War dictatorship. According to the United Nations, April was Iraq's bloodiest month for almost five years, with 712 people killed. Reports suggest the rebel fighters may have tried to blow up the walls of the prison, which holds some 4,000 inmates.   Partner news |  Latest news Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” to open Moscow Film Fest  The fest will feature retrospectives of films by Bernardo Bertolucci and Costa Gavras, as well as a program devoted to Dutch cinema.Wrekin Hill picks up John Malkovich’s “Siberian Education” Based on the novel by Nicolai Lilin, the film is set in the ghetto of Soviet Russia and follows 2 boys who are members of a gang of exiled Siberians.EU says concerned over human rights record in Russia The European Union said it would closely watch developments affecting non-governmental organizations in Russia.John Lennon’s guitar auctioned for $408,000 The custom-made instrument, built in 1966 by the VOX company, was bought by an unidentified U.S. buyer in New York. |
