France: Pillay, Amos will brief UNSC next Thursday

In another step to keep the pressure on the Syrian regime, the Security Council responded positively to the French request and is now scheduled to hear briefings by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and the UN top Humanitarian official Valerie Amos next week, the French Mission to the UN announced late Friday on twitter. "As requested by France, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will brief the UN Security Council on Syria Aug 18 at 3pm in New York" the announcement said. In a separate announcement, the Mission said Amos "will also brief the Council on that occasion." Thursday's meeting will be the third time the Council meets on Syria to keep the pressure on Damascus. It first met on August 3rd to issue a presidential statement condemning the deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters and to call for it to end. It met again last Wednesday to hear a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco who told the Council that the crackdown has intensified in the last few days. Western nations on the Council said if Damascus does not heed the Council's and international community's call to end the killing, the Council will take further steps, may be even sanctions. Some 2,000 civilians have been killed in the ongoing violence across Syria.