Damascus, May 19 (Xinhua-RHC) The visiting UN under-secretary- general for peacekeeping said the observers’ mission to Syria is reaching complete deployment of unarmed military monitors.

Speaking to reporters in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday, Herve Ladsous said that a number of UN observers have been undergoing training before being deployed on the ground.

He said the mission basically aims to help save lives by confirming the reduction on the level of overall violence and thereby helping create some different conditions that could be conducive to a political process in order to shore up the initiative of UN-Arab League joint special envoy Kofi Annan.

The UN official went on to say “we have reached certain elements of our objectives (…) We are not there yet but it’s a process that will be continuing with the support of all those concerned in order to first and foremost achieve this cessation and, at the same time, achieve a reduction of violence.”

Following the news briefing, Ladsous said he is set to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on the situation in Syria and the ceasefire plan that went into effect on April 12.

Ladsous arrived in Syria on Friday for a three-day visit, along with Jean-Marie Guehenno, a deputy to Kofi Annan and Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye, Assistant Secretary-General and Military Adviser to the UN. The visit of the three senior UN officials aims to check on the deployment of the observers across Syria.

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