Syria violence continues despite pledges to end it - UN

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Fighting in Syria continues despite announcements from the Syrian government that it will comply with a U.N.-backed truce and has withdrawn troops and heavy weapons from population centres, the U.N. political affairs chief said on Monday.

"The cessation of armed violence remains incomplete," Lynn Pascoe, U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, told the 15-nation Security Council during an open debate on the Middle East.

"It is essential that the government of Syria fully and immediately implement its obligations to stop using heavy weapons and to pull back military forces from populations centres," he said.

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Bill Trott)