U.N. Team Arrives in Syria as Security Council Backs April 10 Deadline

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday gave formal backing to an April 10 deadline that U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan agreed with the Syrian government to end its military offensive on protest cities, as a U.N. team dispatched by Annan to pave the way for eventual observers arrived in Damascus.

A statement, in which the council "calls upon the Syrian government to implement urgently and visibly its commitments" was adopted at a meeting on Thursday.

The council said that depending on Annan's reports on what President Bashar al-Assad has carried out, it will "consider further steps as appropriate."

The 15-nation council, which has been badly divided on Syria, gave its new boost to Annan's peace mission just before the envoy briefed the U.N. General Assembly on his efforts to halt the government clampdown which the U.N. says has left more than 9,000 dead.

The statement was softened at Russia's demand however, diplomats involved in the talks said.

An initial proposal by western countries that the council "demands" that Syria pull back its troops and heavy weapons was changed to "calls" and "verifiably" was changed to "visibly."

Meanwhile, Annan’s spokesman said a U.N. advance team dispatched by Annan to pave the way for eventual observers had arrived in Damascus.

The team headed by Norwegian general Robert Mood, a Middle East specialist, would be meeting Syrian authorities to discuss "the modalities of the eventual deployment of the U.N. supervising mission," Ahmad Fawzi said.

The former U.N. secretary general had told the Security Council on Monday that it should consider whether to send a mission to monitor events in Syria, where activists say more than 10,000 people have been killed in a brutal crackdown against protesters since March 2011.

The observers can be sent only after the Security Council passes a resolution ordering their deployment, Annan's spokesman said.

Later on Thursday, Annan said that Syria had claimed a partial withdrawal of troops from three cities but that "alarming" casualties were still being reported.

He told the U.N. General Assembly that "more far-reaching action is urgently required" by Assad to reach an April 10 deadline to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from protest cities.

Annan said the government had told him it had started moving troops out of Idlib, Zabadani and Daraa, all key battle zones in the government assault on protesters and opposition groups.

"I await further action and fuller information," he told U.N. envoys.

"It is clear that more far-reaching action is urgently required. Immediate and verifiable steps are needed to complete implementation of commitments in the crucial days ahead."

"Clearly the violence is still continuing. Alarming levels of casualties and other abuses continue to be reported daily," he added.

Annan said that if the government withdraws troops and weapons from cities by April 10 he would call for a complete cessation of hostilities by 6:00 am Damascus time on April 12.

He said opposition groups that his team had spoken to had "committed to call for cessation of violence once the Syrian government has demonstrably fulfilled its commitments."

"I urge the government and the opposition commanders to issue clear instructions so that the message reaches across the country down to the fighter and soldier at the local level," he said.

Below is the full text of the U.N. Security Council statement agreed on Thursday:

"The Security Council recalls its presidential statements of August 3, 2011 and March 21, 2012 and its press statement of March 1, 2012.

"The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria, and to the purposes and principles of the charter.

"The Security Council expresses its appreciation for the April 2, 2012 briefing of the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Kofi Annan. The Security Council notes that the Syrian government committed on 25 March 2012 to implement the envoy's six-point proposal.

"The Security Council calls upon the Syrian government to implement urgently and visibly its commitments, as it agreed to do in its communication to the Envoy of 1 April, to

(a) cease troop movements towards population centers,

(b) cease all use of heavy weapons in such centers, and

(c) begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centers, and to fulfill these in their entirety by no later than April 10, 2012.

"The Security Council calls upon all parties, including the opposition, to cease armed violence in all its forms within 48 hours of the implementation in their entirety by the Syrian government of measures (a), (b), (c) above. The Security Council further calls upon the opposition to engage with the Envoy in this regard.

"The Security Council underscores the importance of an effective and credible United Nations supervision mechanism in Syria to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and relevant aspects of the Envoy's six-point proposal. The Security Council requests the (U.N.) secretary general to provide proposals for such a mechanism as soon as appropriate, after consultations with the government of Syria. The Security Council stands ready to consider these proposals and to authorize an effective and impartial supervision mechanism upon implementation of a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties.

"The Security Council underscores the central importance of a peaceful political settlement to the Syrian crisis and reiterates its call for the urgent, comprehensive, and immediate implementation of all aspects of the envoy's six-point proposal. The Security Council reiterates its full support for the envoy's six-point proposal aimed at bringing an immediate end to all violence and human rights violations, securing humanitarian access and facilitating a Syrian-led political transition leading to a democratic, plural political system, in which citizens are equal regardless of their affiliations, ethnicities or beliefs, including through commencing a comprehensive political dialogue between the Syrian government and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition.

"The Security Council reiterates its call for the Syrian authorities to allow immediate, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to all populations in need of assistance, in accordance with international law and guiding principles of humanitarian assistance. The Security Council calls upon all parties in Syria, in particular the Syrian authorities, to cooperate fully with the United Nations and relevant humanitarian organizations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance. To this end, the Security Council calls on all parties to immediately implement a daily two hour humanitarian pause as called for in the Envoy's six-point proposal.

"The Security Council requests the envoy to update the Council on the cessation of violence in accordance with the above timeline, and progress towards implementation of his six-point proposal in its entirety. In the light of these reports, the Security Council will consider further steps as appropriate."