The United Nations will open a liaison office in Damascus after its observer mission in the war-torn Syria expires on Sunday, France’s UN envoy Gerard Araud said on Thursday.
Araud, who currently chairs the UN Security Council, made his statement to journalists after closed talks at the council on Syria.
The UN mission, comprising 100 unarmed observers, was established in May and tasked with monitoring a ceasefire negotiated at the time. However, neither the government of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad nor the insurgency opposing his authoritarian rule observed the ceasefire, rendering the mission useless.
The conflict in Syria has been ongoing since March 2011. The death toll is estimated by various nongovernmental organizations at between 18,000 and 20,000.
