U.N. expects new Syria monitors

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

U.N. monitors in Damascus heading out on a fresh field visit are expecting two more colleagues to join them on Monday.

Nareej Singh, official member in the U.N. advanced team in Syria, said they were focused on their task.

"Colonel Hamish and the team they are leaving again today for another day of field visits and to carry out all the work that is necessary to prepare for the deployment of the larger mission that has been sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council - The U.N. supervision mission in Syria - so as we have more update in the course of the day we will keep you informed."

The U.N. Security Council agreed on Saturday to increase the mission to a 300-strong observer team, part of U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's plan to halt the killing and launch a political dialogue between President Bashar al-Assad and opponents seeking his downfall.

A small group of unarmed U.N. observers has been operating in Syria for a week, overseeing an 11-day-old truce agreement that has curbed some of the violence but failed to bring a complete halt to 13 months of bloodshed.