Video: Syria: first team of UN ceasefire monitors visits Deraa amid continued fighting UN Colonel Ahmed Himmiche, head of the initial team of international observers sent to monitor the truce in Syria, said his team had made an "excellent" trip to Deraa. "We can say that we are moving ahead, the task for us is to liaise with the Syrian forces and also with the other parties," the Moroccan colonel said. The first team of UN monitors were accompanied by a Syrian government delegation and are part of an advance party of up to 250 observers charged with overseeing the fragile ceasefire brokered by Kofi Annan. One group of anti-Assad protesters in the city of Kafranbl appeared to take exception to the presence of UN monitors, holding banners that read, "UN take back your dumb Don Quixotes, they are not better than the Arab League's ones." Meanwhile UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon said to oversee an end to violence in Syria, the UN may need to bring in aircraft and deploy more troops to ensure that a firm ceasefire takes hold throughout the country. Mr Ban added that the ceasefire was being "generally observed" although there was still violence, especially in the rebel strongholds of Idlib, Homs and Deraa. Amateur footage posted to social media sites purportedly showed the aftermath of heavy shelling in the Khalidiya and Bayada districts of Homs, where the regime's assault resumed just two days after the truce came into force.