Bombs welcome new UN chief monitor in Syria - Video
The head of the new UN observer team is starting his work in Syria amid sporadic violence. On Monday, twin suicide bomb attack killed at least eight people, fuelling doubts over how long the shaky ceasefire can hold.
The blasts killed eight security personnel near state intelligence buildings in the north-western city of Idlib, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The Britain-based human rights organization Syrian Observatory puts the number of casualties higher, saying more than 20 people have been killed. The new act of violence comes as Norwegian Major General Robert Mood is paving the way for a full 300-strong monitoring team, which is to be deployed in the coming months. The 52-year-old veteran peacemaker, who takes over the UN Mission in Syria, is no stranger to Damascus. Between 2009 and 2011 he headed the UN Truce Supervision Organization, which monitors Middle East cease-fires, and visited Syria. On arrival he called on both the government and opposition groups to co-operate with the UN, saying the effort of the monitors alone is not enough to defuse the situation.