UN approves resolution to send observers to Syria
Baku, April 14 (AZERTAC). The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to approve a resolution to allow international observers into Syria to monitor a shaky cease-fire, as reports of clashes continue to emerge from across the country.
An Azerbaijani representative said the Azerbaijani side is satisfied with the text of the reviewed version of the resolution`s draft, which calls on Syria to allow the deployment of an advance non-military team of international observers.
The group is expected to consist of 10 or 12 people, and the number can be expanded to 250 in the future.
The resolution also calls on the Syrian government to implement the demand by international envoy Kofi Annan that it pull troops and heavy weapons out of cities and towns.
The U.N. resolution, the first on Syria since violence gripped the country more than a year ago, also calls on all parties to end armed violence.
Other demands of the Annan plan include the release of detainees, allowing access for humanitarian aid and international media, and the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons from residential areas.
Meanwhile, activists in Syria reported that government forces targeted opposition neighborhoods Saturday, just days into a fragile cease-fire aimed at ending the bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters.
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