New UN observers arrive in Syria

DAMASCUS - Two new UN observers arrived in Syria Tuesday to join the 11-member team which has been operating on ground in the unrest-stricken country, sources told Xinhua.

The two observers, who are Chinese nationals, crossed the borders to Syria from Lebanon Tuesday afternoon, the sources said.

On ground, there are 11 unarmed military observers in Syria operating and preparing the ground for the larger mission to monitor the tenuous cease-fire brokered by the international envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan.

The advance team of international observers arrived last week after Syria accepted the UN-backed truce aiming to solve its crisis politically.

Since their arrival, violence has declined to some extent, but attacks and deaths are still reported to take place on daily basis.