U.N. plan calls for international team in Damascus

The U.N. special envoy for Syria de Mistura is discretely making the case for establishing an intelligence-gathering cell to help implement any ceasefire agreements that may emerge from the Syrian peace process, according to a confidential paper obtained by Foreign Policy.

The collection of intelligence is politically sensitive at the UN, where U.N. governments hosting U.N. missions have harbored suspicions that it would be used to spy on them.

It is far from certain that de Mistura’s plan will see the light as the Assad regime, backed by Russian air power, has continued to prosecute an offensive against the Syrian opposition even as the parties gather in Geneva for peace talks.

It is also not clear how effective it would be, since the plan would sharply limit the freedom of U.N. or other international monitors from venturing outside Damascus because of safety concerns.