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UN prepares mission as Syria ceasefire holds

The first day of a tense cease fire in Syria has passed without major incidents.

The UN is currently preparing a team of monitors to assess the situation on the ground and determine whether a full mission is possible.

UN special envoy Kofi Annan said he was ‘encouraged’ but pointed out that Syria did not fully comply with the cease fire plan put forward by him.

Syria still has not removed its troops and heavy weaponry from its cities, which was supposed to be completed by Tuesday.

"All parties have obligations to implement fully the six-point plan. This includes both the military provisions of the plan and the commitment to move to a political process," Mr Annan told the UN Security Council.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US was in support of an immediate deployment of a UN team.

But she stressed the team, as well as the full monitoring mission "will need complete freedom of movement, unimpeded communications, and access throughout the country and to all Syrians, as well as firm security guarantees from all parties."

Assad will have to go and the Syrian people must be given the chance to chart their own future,

“Given the Assad regime’s record of broken promises, we are proceeding, understandably, with caution.” she said.

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