The UN has made plans to assemble a peacekeeping force for Syria if a cease-fire proposed by a special envoy takes hold, a top UN official said yesterday.
“We are getting ourselves ready to act if it is necessary and a mandate is approved,” UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said yesterday when asked about reports of the force being prepared. He warned, however, that the plans were tentative while fighting rages, and would need the approval of the 15-nation Security Council which has been divided on the conflict.
Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Helli dashed those hopes. “Unfortunately, hope for implementing the truce is slim so far,” Ben Helli told AFP.
