Security Council to Vote Saturday on Syria Observer Force
The U.N. Security Council has reached a tentative accord on a resolution to send a 300-strong ceasefire observer force to Syria which could be voted Saturday.
Russia's U.N. ambassador called for a "unanimous vote" on the text his country took a leading role in drawing up.
But U.S. ambassador Susan Rice indicated that a vote is not certain as western governments decide whether the conditions for the force were strong enough.
Painstaking talks brought rival Russian and European resolutions into a single draft text.
The final proposal would give U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon the task of making an "assessment" on whether it was safe enough to send the unarmed military observers and civilians experts.
The council has approved an advanced mission of 30 observers and seven are already in Syria where a 13-month old uprising against President Bashar Assad has left well over 9,000 dead, according to a U.N. toll.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to take "early action" to bolster the mission, while acknowledging that boosting its numbers to 300 was "not a decision without risk."
Source: Agence France Presse
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