UN considers new Syria office after observers go
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The Security Council on Thursday debated whether to back the establishment of a new civilian office in Syria to support UN and Arab League efforts to end the country's 18-month conflict as the UN military observer mission ends Sunday.
The council had set two conditions for possibly extending the mission of the unarmed observers past Aug. 19: a halt to the government's use of heavy weapons and a significant reduction in violence. In a letter to the council last Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said neither condition had been met and Syria now risks "a descent into a full-scale civil war." (AP)
