• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN Observer Mission Gets Final 30 Days Extension

by RFE/RL July 20, 2012

The UN Security Council has agreed unanimously to a 30-day extension for its observer mission in Syria.

In New York, the vote was taken only hours before the end of the 90-day mandate for the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).

Russia had wanted an unconditional extension of the mission.

Russia and China on July 19 vetoed a Western-backed resolution that sought to threaten sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad if he did not end the use of heavy weapons in the Syria conflict.

Speaking after the vote, Vitali Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, said the mission is likely to continue after the 30-day period expires.

"I was somewhat surprised to hear [U.S.] Ambassador [Susan] Rice's definition, or description, of the resolution as something which provides for an orderly withdrawal of the mission. This is not a resolution about withdrawal, it's a resolution about a continuation of the activity of the mission," Churkin said.

"If a decision were to be taken not to extend the mission, then of course it can withdraw very quickly and I hope safely, but this is not about withdrawal and I think we should not disorient the mission and the international community by describing it as a withdrawal resolution."

The resolution voted on July 19 said the council would only keep UNSMIS going after the 30 days if UN "reports and the Security Council confirm the cessation of the use of heavy weapons and a reduction in the level of violence sufficient to allow UNSMIS to implement its mandate."

Meanwhile, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 300 people -- soldiers, rebel fighters, and civilians -- were killed on July 19 as fighting raged in Damascus and elsewhere. The same source said 128 people were killed on July 20. The figures could not be independently confirmed.

The exodus from what appears to be an expanding war in Syria continues. The UN refugee agency said up to 30,000 Syrians may have crossed into Lebanon in the past 48 hours, and up to 1 million Syrians are estimated to have been forced from their homes.

Ali al-Musawi, a media adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq that Baghdad is working to evacuate its citizens from Syria.

"The [Iraqi] government is taking measures to evacuate its citizens by air, not by land. We are basically relying on air transport. That is why closing the border crossings will not affect the evacuation of Iraqis from Syria," al-Musawi said.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP and RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/syria-rebels-borders- russia-china-veto-un-/24650881.html

Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.