The 14 months of violence in Syria that have seen more than 9,000 people killed is a “totally unacceptable and intolerable situation” that must stop so political dialogue can start, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday. The priority for the United Nations is to deploy a complete supervision mission of 300 unarmed U.N. monitors as soon as possible, Ban said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. The situation in Syria is the “most serious and gravest” concern for the international community, Ban said. He called for the cessation of violence, “then, political dialogue must begin in an inclusive way for a political resolution reflecting the genuine aspiration of the Syrian people. That's our priority.” Ban said the Arab League has played a “crucial” role and, together with the U.N. Security Council, is united in trying to deploy a monitoring mission. Currently, there are only 60 monitors and an equal number of civilian staff, which will be increased to about 230 by the middle of this month. The goal is to deploy 300 personnel by the end of May, he said. The secretary-general said the supervision mission would play an important role in monitoring a cease-fire and cessation of violence, so that U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan can help begin a political dialogue.
