Syrians "place a lot of hope" in UN observers

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Syrians have placed "a lot of hope" in the UN mission deployed to the country.

That's what Major-General Robert Mood, head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), told UN Radio on Friday.

Maj-Gen Mood said the recent deadly bombings in Syria were a "graphic" reminder of the suffering the people are facing.

"My strongest impression yet is when I went to the site of the two terrible, deplorable bombings yesterday in Damascus. Even in that circumstance where we have wreckage, where we had traces, remains, of human beings in a way that cannot be described; even in that situation, ordinary Syrians in that place and everyone I met greeted the UN with respect and they place a lot of hope in us. It was a very, very graphic description of the suffering that the Syrian people do not deserve."

Maj-Gen Mood said so far, 105 unarmed military observers from 27 countries are serving in six cities in Syria.

He expects the mission to reach its full force of up to 300 personnel within the coming weeks.

Duration: 54″