13 Jul 2012

SYRIA / MOOD

The head of the UN mission in Syria today confirmed the use of mechanized units, indirect fire, and helicopters in the village of Treimseh, but said his observers needed a local ceasefire for them to verify the facts on the ground. UNSMIS

Posted at: July 13, 2012 12:31 pm

Duration: 02:31

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: SYRIA / MOOD
TRT: 2.31
SOURCE: UNSMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 13 JULY 2012, DAMASCUS, SYRIA

SHOTLIST:

1. Pan right, General Robert Mood approaching microphones
2. Med shot, cameramen
3. SOUNDBITE (English) General Robert Mood, Head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS):
"If we have credible cessation of violence and a local ceasefire, we stand ready to go in with a larger team to verify the facts on the ground.  What we have verified today is that there was ongoing fighting yesterday involving mechanized units, involving indirect fire impact and involving helicopters. This is what we have seen from a distance of five to six kilometres. Will it be more possible to verify more facts in the coming hours and days? I don't know.  I sincerely hope so. Because everyone not least the Syrian people are really served better by having these facts established."
4. Close up, cameraman
5. SOUNDBITE (English) General Robert Mood, Head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS):
"Encouraging progress has been made by the parties in Deir Ezzor. We observe a significant reduction of violence and growing confidence in a possible step-by-step approach to stop the violence."
6. Med shot, cameramen
7.  SOUNDBITE (English) General Robert Mood, Head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS):
"For the sake of the Syrian people we now need genuine and effective leadership from the Security Council. The Security Council should unite on a plan that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people, and is accepted by the parties."
8. Close up, cameraman
9. SOUNDBITE (English) General Robert Mood, Head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS):
"The violence has escalated; hence the tool that was deployed towards the end of April is not the most relevant tool for the future. So, what we are looking at now is the situation in which the political dialogue has to be brought inside Syria and we have to build on the progress that we are seeing on the ground, noting in particular the encouraging process as we speak in Deir Ezzor. Through that dialogue, and lifting it to the national level, we will than achieve a cessation of violence."
10. Wide shot, cameramen
11. Pan left, General Mood walking away

STORYLINE:

The head of the UN mission in Syria today (13 July) confirmed the use of mechanized units, indirect fire, and helicopters in the village of Treimseh, but said his observers needed a local ceasefire for them to verify the facts on the ground.

The UN-Arab League joint special envoy, Kofi Annan today strongly condemned Thursday's attacks on Treimseh, in central Hama province, which reportedly killed over 200 people, mostly civilians. If confirmed, this would be the worst single incident of violence since the Syrian conflict began 16 months ago.

Speaking to reporters in Damascus, the head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), General Robert Mood said his observers had verified ongoing fighting yesterday in Treimseh "from a distance of five to six kilometres". He hoped it would be possible to verify more facts on the ground in the coming hours and days, but while the UN mission stood ready to investigate, the precondition would be a "credible cessation of violence and a local ceasefire".

Meanwhile, Mood reported there had been "encouraging progress" in reducing violence in the eastern region of Deir Ezzor.

He urged the Security Council, which must decide in the coming days on the future of the UN mission when its current mandate expires on 20 July, to show "genuine and effective leadership" and "unite on a plan that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people, and is accepted by the parties".

Asked about UNSMIS' new focus on political dialogue rather than monitoring a non-existent ceasefire, Mood said that violence had escalated since the Security Council dispatched the mission in April, with up to 300 unarmed military observers for a three month period. "The tool that was deployed towards the end of April is not the most relevant tool for the future", he said. Instead, a cessation of violence "will be achieved" by building on "progress that we are seeing on the ground" and lifting it to a national level.

Filed under SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC UNSMIS.