UN beefs up observer presence in Syria, amid collapsing cease-fire

• 300 observers approved by UN for monitoring in Syria source

» Eyes on the ground: The UN Security Council voted unanimously to approve this surge in cease-fire observers, above and beyond the mere 30 tasked with the job last week. Syrian activists have long accused the Assad government of agreeing to proposals and peace deals only to buy itself more time in its brutal crackdown against citizen protest. To date, that fear seems rather validated, as just like last November’s peace agreement with the Arab League, the government has continued firing on activists and citizens with little regard to the terms of their agreements. At present, there are continued reports of killings, and shellings of cities such as Homs, with activists claiming the violence only halts for as long as the aforementioned monitors are in an area.

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