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UN frets over 'sitting duck' monitors
NEW YORK -- The United Nations is increasingly worried about the unarmed observers it has sent into Syria to monitor the situation in the country. The UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) is caught between troops accused of firing at its patrols and increasingly bitter Syrians who cannot understand why it has not halted the bloodshed, officials said.

Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations, likened the monitors to "300 sitting ducks in a shooting gallery, one IED from a disaster", at a recent UN Security Council meeting.
You can either defend your monitors or pull them out. Leaving them sit there as targets is dishonorable...
An Iraq-style Improvised Explosive Device, or roadside bomb, exploded in front of a convoy of UN ceasefire monitors last month, without wounding anyone. On Thursday, shots were fired at another UN patrol as it tried to get to a village near Homs where a fresh massacre reportedly left dozens dead. No monitors were wounded.

The Security Council has ordered a review of the mission to be ready before its 90 day mandate ends on July 20. According to diplomats and UN officials, options being studied range from sending more observers with armed protection to a complete withdrawal if UNSMIS suffers casualties. All stressed that no decision has yet been taken.
Posted by: Steve White 2012-06-09
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=346263