The head of UN peacekeeping has stated that they are preparing for the event of a ceasefire in Syria, after the UN and Arab League’s international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s visit to the country.
The head of UN peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous, stated that,
"I would confirm that, of course, we are giving a lot of thought to what would happen if and when a political solution or at least a ceasefire would emerge”
"There are a number of hypotheses, but I think at this stage one can only say that it certainly would be premature to mention a figure because it would depend on the situation (and) on the tasks".
His comments came after Brahimi revealed that he was hoping both sides would agree to a ceasefire during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha which begins on Friday.
However, the implementation of a ceasefire looks to be distant, with the Arab League describing the hopes of a truce as “slim”.
Abdulbaset Sieda, head of the opposition Syrian National Council, stated that whilst rebels would be willing to observe a ceasefire, he doubted that the Syrian government would noting that the UN does not have any "any mechanism to observe the situation".
In April a UN observer mission was sent to Syria, but was unable to halt the violence, facing obstacles to free observation and was even fired on. After suspending patrols in June, the UN Security Council decided not to extend their mandate.
