UN peacekeeing chief says Syria still utmost concern as observers reduced

Damascus, July 25 (Xinhua-ANI): UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous said Wednesday that the situation in Syria remains the utmost concern of the UN Security Council while half of the UN observers have returned home.

Ladsous, who arrived in Syria a day earlier and held talks Wednesday with some government officials, said here in a press conference that about half of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) observers have been sent back to their countries, noting that the mission is operated on reduced pace and in reduced number.

Ladsous, who came to assess the situation, also pointed out that the UN Security Council might reconsider prolonging the observers' mission if the violence was alleviated and the use of heavy weapons was lessened.

Ladsous said he will have other meetings to discuss Syria's situation "which remains of utmost concern to the United Nations, the secretary general, the Security Council."

"We try to work towards contributing to a political solution which would help alleviate all these sufferings," he said.

Meanwhile, Babacar Gaye, the new head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria who arrived in Damascus earlier Wednesday, said that "We have 30 days, so every opportunity would be seized to alleviate the suffering of the population. This is our main concern." (Xinhua-ANI)