UN Chief Ban Ki-moon called on the UN Security Council to reduce the number of the observers in Syria.

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon called on the UN Security Council to reduce the number of the observers in Syria.

Ban recommends in a report that the mission in Syria with a "reduced military observer component" be redeployed to the capital Damascus, from regional cities where the conflict has grown in recent weeks.

The divided Security Council must make a decision on the future of the 300 unarmed military observers and more than 120 civilian staff in Syria by July 20.
The UN leader expressed alarm at the "dangerous trajectory of the conflict and the destructive dynamics at play" between the government and opposition.

He said the UN Supervision Mission (UNSMIS) mandate should remain unchanged, though with the focus shifting from monitoring a ceasefire that has never taken hold toward a more political role.

"If UNSMIS were re-oriented in this manner, the mission would redeploy from the field to the capital to minimize risks, retaining core civilian and military observer capacities to focus on the spectrum of initiatives feeding into the political process," said the report.

Ban and UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan want the mission to deal more with efforts to persuade the government and opposition to halt the violence.
"From a central hub in Damascus, the civilian component would continue liaison and dialogue with opposition and government representatives in the provinces as security conditions allow."

"A reduced military observer component would support these civilian-led activities with military liaison and, as it does now, conduct visits to incident sites," said the report.