UN Mission Chief in Syria Cautiously Optimistic

The U.N. mission in Syria is a small contingent trying to monitor a very large conflict. Violence continues in Homs, Hama, Damascus and elsewhere despite a cease-fire agreed to by the government and the opposition last month.

It’s been termed by some an impossible mission, but U.N. mission leader General Robert Mood says his team has already seen “very specific, concrete steps on the ground.”

“We see that we have a calming effect on the situation,” said Mood. “So we have seen in these places a significant reduction in shelling. We have seen a significant reduction in shooting.”

In the week since the mission got underway, both sides, he says, have pulled back from positions on monitors’ advice. But with just a few dozen unarmed observers to implement the U.N.-brokered peace plan, Mood is aware the situation can quickly regress.