Spokesperson: We are going to have a few comments by Mr. Latsus followed by General Guy and then two questions.

Hervé Ladsous: Good morning everyone, I think I said already yesterday on my arrival that the purpose of my visit here to Damascus was two-fold:

First, is to introduce the new leadership of the Supervision Mission of the United Nations in Syria. The new leader is here he is Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye who will also say a few words to you.

Damascus, 19 July 2012

I would first like to start by wishing all Muslims a blessed Ramadan and an advanced Eid Mubarak. I truly hope that its return next year be in times of peace for this great country.

It pains me to say, but we are not on the track for peace in Syria and the escalations we have witnessed in Damascus over the past few days is a testimony to that.

Note to correspondents by the Spokesperson for the UN Supervision Mission in Syria

UN Observers returned to the village of Treimseh, today, to gather more information on the military operation of July 12.

The integrated patrol, comprised of specialized civilian and military experts, observed over 50 houses that were burned and/or destroyed. Pools of blood and brain matter were observed in a number of homes.

Dear Syrian People, A Salaam aleikum!

I want to express my profound sympathy with you - the men, women and children of Syria. The suffering and the destruction that you are enduring is the greatest injustice of this crisis. I wish I had the power to stop it, but I have not. Only those pulling the triggers have the power to stop the violence, and they should!

The United Nations observer mission in Syria has suspended its activities owing to an intensification of armed violence across the country over the past 10 days, its chief announced today.

“This escalation is limiting our ability to observe, verify, report as well as assist in local dialogue and stability projects – basically impeding our ability to carry out our mandate,” General Robert Mood, head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), said in a statement.

Statement attributable to the Head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, General Robert Mood

UNSMIS dispatched UN Observers to Mazraat al-Qubeir, early Thursday morning, to verify reports of large-scale killings in the village. The observers have not yet been able to reach the village. Their mission is being obstructed by three factors:

1. They are being stopped at Syrian Army checkpoints and in some cases turned back.

2. Some of our patrols are being stopped by civilians in the area.

Homs, 21 May 2012 – United Nations Under-Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous visited today Homs, a city in Western Syria and a flashpoint of the 15-month conflict, to examine the progress of the UN Mission on the ground. Talking to the military observers in Homs, Mr. Ladsous expressed his appreciation to the Head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), General Robert Mood, and his team, as well as the Syrian parties and member states for the record speed in which the deployment occurred and said that the focus now is on the second phase of the mission.