Middle East, Syria | featured news

Six United Nations military observers arrived overnight and were ready to begin, depending on the cooperation of the Syrian government, a spokesman for the special envoy Kofi Annan said.

The United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of 30 unarmed observers Saturday morning to the Syria.

Cease-fire brokered by the U.N. is fragile as government troops halt widespread attacks, but still refuse to withdraw.

Kofi Annan appealed on Wednesday to President Bashar al-Assad’s Iranian backers to support a peace effort.

Foreign policy analysts explain why Americans should care about what happens in Syria beyond the human suffering in the conflict.

Syrian forces on Monday fired across the border at a refugee camp in Turkey, killing one and wounding four, activists said. It is the first such attack since Ankara began allowing thousands of refugees to find shelter in the country.

Hopes for a cease-fire in Syria this week have apparently fizzled, despite reports of an earlier promise by the Syrian government to withdraw its forces from cities by Tuesday.

A U.N.-brokered peace deal for Syria appeared to collapse as the government made a new demand.

U.N. Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said the Syrian army and rebels in a year-long conflict that has killed thousands must end all violence by 6 a.m. Syrian time April 12 if the government meets its agreed deadline to halt fighting two days earlier.

The rebels say they will wait for the government forces to stop shooting before they agree to reciprocate.