New York: The United Nations (UN) chief Ban Ki-Moon said that bomb attacks like the one near a U.N. convoy in Syria on Wednesday cast doubt on the future of the ceasefire monitoring mission in the country, media reported on Wednesday.
In a statement issued by U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said that there was no immediate evidence that U.N. monitors in the convoy were the target of Wednesday’s attack.
“Such incidents, in addition to the continued violence reported in many cities in Syria, call into question the commitment of the parties to the cessation of violence and may have a direct impact on the future of the (U.N.) mission,” the UN Chief said.
The roadside blast at a military checkpoint near the protest city of Daraa injured 10 Syrian troops escorting U.N. observers, according to the statement.
“We have no evidence to believe that the explosion was intended to target the UNSMIS convoy; however, this incident demonstrates the difficult and challenging conditions under which our United Nations observers are operating,” said Ban.
“It also demonstrates the volatile and dangerous situation in which the Syrian people have been living for months.”
The U.N. says well over 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad started in March last year.
Following the blast near the U.N. convoy, Ban reaffirmed that the U.N. mission and efforts of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan “are possibly the only remaining chance to stabilize the country and avert a civil war,” said the statement.
U.N. officials say there are now 70 military observers and 43 civilian staff in the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), which was set up by the U.N. Security Council to monitor a shaky cessation of hostilities started on April 12.
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