Observer teams leave for Tartous, Harasta; General Mood news conference скачать в хорошем качестве

Observer teams leave for Tartous, Harasta; General Mood news conference

(5 Jul 2012) The violence in Syria has reached unprecedented levels, the head of the UN observer mission said Thursday, insisting there must be a cease-fire in order for his teams to resume their work. Mood said the escalation of violence obstructed the mission's ability to "observe, verify, report as well as assist in local dialogue." Mood gave the bleak report the same day a UN team had to turn back after being unable to reach the town of Harasta, near Damascus. The monitors have been unable to carry out their mandate due to the increasing levels of violence, Mood said. About 300 UN monitors were sent to Syria to provide an unbiased look at the violence, but they have been largely confined to their hotels since 15 June because of the bloodshed. Mood said the violence was forcing the mission to restructure. "We have no ceasefire. So it is time to stop spreading ourselves out too thin and restructure in a way that will allow us, once we resume our activities, to conduct targeted tasks that require longer periods of stay in particular area as well as larger number of observers, specialised in a variety of civilian and military affairs," he said. He added that the mission had a "moral as well as political responsibility" to fulfil their mandate. "We cannot and we will not turn our eyes and ears away from your plight and will continue our work to find new paths to political dialogue and peaceful resolution to the crisis," Mood told reporters in Damascus. More than 14-thousand people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, according to activists. As the conflict grinds on, the violence has become widespread and chaotic. Besides the government crackdown on dissent, rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray. Syria severely restricts the media in the country, making it difficult to gain a credible account of events on the ground. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...