Operation Ostrava: Month 14, Week 2, Day 1.

Subtitled: "Worst Dictator Ever!"

Although they're being highly evasive about it at around 17:20GMT/20:20 local an advance team of five United Nations staffers have most probably already arrived in Syria to act as pathfinders for the 25 other observers authorised by resolution 2042. As they arrived in Syrian airspace you will notice that the Syrian government didn't shoot them out of the sky. Instead they allowed them to land safely. Once they were on the ground the Syrian government didn't immediately arrest them and throw them in jail. Instead they quietly let them get on with their business. It's almost as if Bashar al-Assad agreed to let them into Syria before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote but obviously that would spoil the narrative. As for what the observers hope to find I'm at a loss. As the Saudi Irregular Army (SIA) do not fulfill the criteria laid out in Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention they don't actually have any rights to be violated.

However it's clear that the SIA have been buoyed by the passing of resolution 2042 because today (15/4/12) they've launched wave after wave of attacks against Syrian forces. In Aleppo they've mounted sustained attacks against the local police headquarters and other government buildings and blown up an oil tanker on the outskirts of the city. There is no word on the number of casualties. In Hama the SIA shot and killed two and detonated a car bomb. Car bombs were also detonated in Damascus and Idlib. In Iblib Syrian forces responded by shelling a village on the outskirts of the town believed to contain the bomb factory. Also the now infamous artillery batteries near Homs have been in action again shelling the Khabliyah district throughout the day. The British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) are reporting three killed. So I think it's fair to say that the passing of resolution 2042 appears to have voided the ceasefire.

I should also take the opportunity to point out that while the 25 remaining observers have yet to be chosen there is a concerted effort within the UN to involve Sudan in the mission. As you may have heard Sudan is itself a deeply troubled nation with a long and continuing history of violence and failed UN peace initiatives. Israel exploited the Darfur conflict to distract attention from their treatment of the Palestinians and confuse Israel/Palestine peace-talks. Eventually this resulted in the nation's President Omar al-Bashir being indited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity and the nation being split into two parts - Sudan and South Sudan. Fighting continues in the Nuba mountains region. Therefore the efforts to involve Sudan in the Syria mission is the so called progressive-liberal left elements (Amos et al) trying to draw Israel into a situation in which they are not currently active. So a hint of anti-Semitism, that's exactly what this recreation of Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia needs(!)

Edited at around 19:05GMT on 15/4/12 to add:

There's still no word on those observers/pathfinders. Personally I just hope it's not the Norwegians who were there on 5/4/12. After all the Breivik trial starts tomorrow (16/4/12). Actually thinking about - although it's too late to - does the Breivik trial have to start tomorrow? I mean for a man who has already admitted the offence I don't think a year of pre-trial detention is excessive especially as you can deduct it from his final sentence.

Anyway it turns out there was lots of goals between me and the Jews in the football. That's why people make me sit outside in the garden during important matches.