Syria, UN sign deal on terms of monitoring mission

Syria and the United Nations have signed an agreement outlining the functions of the observing mission and Damascus’ responsibilities regarding implementation of the country’s ceasefire.

Syrian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that an accord on observers was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad and General Abhijit Guha, the Deputy Military Adviser in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

“This agreement comes within the framework of Syrian efforts aimed at making the Annan plan succeed and to facilitate the UN observer mission while respecting Syria’s sovereignty,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

The office of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan also confirmed that a deal had been signed, adding that the Syrian government has also agreed with the deployment of more observers.

“This agreement outlines the functions of the observers as they fulfill their mandate in Syria and the tasks and responsibilities of the Syrian government in this regard,” Anna’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement.

Earlier, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he wanted to increase the number of monitors to 300. He also expressed confidence in the mission, saying it will contribute to end months of violence in Syria. An advanced team of UN observers is already in Syria.

Meanwhile, China says it is considering sending observers to join the UN mission monitoring the truce in Syria.

Calm has returned to most parts of Syria since the ceasefire was announced almost a week ago, though there have been reports of sporadic clashes in some parts of the country with Damascus accusing armed groups of violating the truce by continuing attacks on government forces.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including security forces, have been killed in the unrest by the U.S, West and their regional allies- backed and financed terrorist groups.