A small, civilian¹ office will be set up instead to maintain political contacts.

 

"The conditions to continue [the mission] were not filled," France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud said after a Security Council meeting.

 

The UN mission had been part of envoy² Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan. But continued violence made the observers' mission increasingly difficult.

 

A bomb exploded close to their hotel in Damascus on Wednesday. The observers' patrols were suspended in mid-June because of the "significant risk to their lives" and diplomats³ said the conditions for renewing their mandate⁴ - a halt to the use of heavy weapons and a reduction in violence - had not been met.

 

"So the mission will come to an end at midnight on Sunday," said Mr Araud, the current president of the Security Council.

 

 

Russia warned earlier that pulling out of Syria would have "serious negative consequences" for the region.

 

Moscow's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said Russia, which has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, wanted the UN to make an international appeal for the Syrian conflict to end. 

 

Mr Annan resigned as UN-Arab League envoy to Syria a fortnight ago, complaining of a "clear lack of unity⁵" in the Security Council. 

 

UN officials are hoping that veteran envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has previously⁶ served in Afghanistan and Iraq, will take over as international mediator⁷, but with a different mandate.

 

Although the 101 remaining military observers will leave Damascus over the next eight days, a civilian liaison⁸（联络） office is due to remain.

 

An estimated 20 to 30 people would staff the liason office, UN deputy peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet said.

 

"The situation on the ground is extremely difficult. But the fact that it's difficult doesn't mean we shouldn't face that challenge of trying to open those political spaces in the future," he told reporters at the UN.

 

Mr Churkin said Russia had called for a meeting on Friday of Security Council members as well as representatives from Saudi Arabia and Iran to discuss the crisis.

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