U.N. Advance Team Chief Admits Syria Mission 'Difficult'

Advance team leader Colonel Ahmed Himmiche acknowledged on Tuesday that a hard-won U.N. military observer mission to oversee a Syria ceasefire will be "difficult."

"We need to move forward little step by little step," the Moroccan officer told reporters.

"It is not easy and it will require coordination with all sides, firstly with the Syrian government and then with the other sides.

"It's a difficult mission that needs coordination and planning," added Himmiche, who heads a six-strong advance team that arrived in Damascus on Sunday to prepare for a 30-strong observer mission approved by the U.N. Security Council late last week.

U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan wants the mission's numbers to swell to more than 250, but Saturday's resolution approves only the initial 30 and Security Council diplomats have said that reinforcement will depend on compliance with the ceasefire that went into force last Thursday.

That truce remained shaky on Tuesday with two civilians killed in a fresh bombardment by regime forces of a rebel stronghold south of Damascus, following the deaths of 35 people on Monday.

"No ceasefire, not even the beginnings of a political process -- this mission will be one of the toughest ever undertaken by the United Nations," Himmiche said.