UN observers begin to leave Syria as their mission ends
Members of the UN’s observer delegation to Syria were leaving the country, with their mission officially over. Their deployment earlier this year had been one of the only concrete achievements in the peace attempts of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who steps down as special envoy on August 31st. The head of the mission yesterday acknowledged “some frustrations” at the failure to reduce violence and end the Syrian government’s use of heavy weapons against its people – conditions set for the mission’s possible extension. The observers’ departure comes after the Security Council agreed to end the UN mission and back a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts.