Given the increased intensity of the fighting in Syria, the United Nations voted for a final thirty day extension of their monitoring mission there, giving the 300 monitors in the country time to safely remove themselves from the country.

The monitoring mission, crafted under Kofi Anna’s peace plan has been ineffective, and in the face of increased violence in Syria, their continued safety is in doubt. The vote will now allow the 300 unarmed military observers to begin shutting down their missions.

“The decision we took was to extend the UNSMIS’s mission for a final period of 30 days to allow it to withdraw safely and orderly — in an orderly fashion,” U.S. ambassador Susan Rice said. “And we hope very much that the withdrawal will be conducted with the principal priority placed on the security of U.N. personnel.”

In a vote yesterday, the U.N. attempted to impose sanctions on the Syrian Government if that country failed to halt the violence. That resolution failed as a consequence of vetoes by both Russia and China.

After that failed vote, the United States and Great Britain said they would address the Syrian situation through other means. The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague said that his country “will all be doing more outside the Security Council and intensifying our work to support the Syrian opposition, to give humanitarian aid outside the work of the Security Council.”

Iraq reported that it had closed down its borders with Syria after Syrian rebels seized control of the major border posts bordering that country. 21 Syrian soldiers were killed in that takeover.

Syrian television annnounced that the blast that killed and injured several top military officials claimed the life of another, it was announced that the Syrian National Security Chief, General Hisham Ikhtiyar had succumbed to his injuries in that blast.