U.N. votes to increase Syria monitors UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security voted Saturday to increase U.N. observers in Syria to 300 hundred for three months, with a small team already in the country. The vote was unanimous on the 15-member council and came during a lull in the fighting in Homs, Syria, the BBC reported. The BBC reported rebels said the Assad regime's tanks had been hidden out of sight while advance U.N. observers were in Homs. The monitors initially had been denied access by the Assad government, The New York Times said. As for the new group of monitors, the United States and other Western countries had wanted to threaten new sanctions to give it force, the Times said, but the threat was removed in a compromise with Russia, a supporter of President Bashar Assad. Assad has been resisting an insurgency for a year. The Times said state-run media reported the U.N. inspectors met the Homs governor, touring the neighborhoods of Baba Amr, al-Zahraa, Zaidal and Fairouza. Baba Amr has been heavily damaged by government shelling.