Spokesman Ahmad Fawzi (left) with Joint Special Envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States on the Syrian Crisis, Kofi Annan. UN Photo/Violaine Martin
15 May 2012  Three vehicles belonging to a convoy of UN observers in Syria were damaged in a bomb blast near the city of Hama today, according to a UN spokesperson.
The three vehicles were part of a four-vehicle convoy of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), which was in Khan Cheikhoun, when an improvised explosive device was detonated around mid-afternoon local time, Ahmad Fawzi, the spokesperson for the Joint Special Envoy for the UN and the League of Arab States for the Syrian crisis, Kofi Annan, told reporters in Geneva today.
“Three UN vehicles were damaged, no UN personnel were injured,” Mr. Fawzi said in response to questions. “The Mission has sent a patrol team to the area to extract the UN military observers.”
The crisis in Syria, which began in March 2011 as a protest movement similar to those across the Middle East and North Africa, has claimed over 9,000 lives, mostly civilians, and displaced tens of thousands.
Separately, the Spokesperson’s Office in New York today said that UNSMIS had reported that heavy fighting took place on Monday in Tal Biseh and Rastan, and UN observers witnessed that a highway in the area had been blocked by Government forces. It added that an UNSMIS patrol helped to de-escalate the situation and get the highway opened after interaction with Government Forces.
On Wednesday last week, a bomb blast went off in the vicinity of a convoy of UNSMIS observers, which had been approaching the southern city of Dar’a. The blast injured several Syrian soldiers accompanying the delegation.
Authorized by the Council last month under resolution 2043, UNSMIS is tasked with monitoring the cessation of violence in Syria and supporting the full implementation of Mr. Annan’s six-point plan.
The plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.
Syrian activists uploaded this video of the attack on the UN convoy to YouTube. The United Nations has confirmed that its convoy in Syria was bombed this afternoon while a human rights group reported a Syrian military attack on civilians at a nearby funeral in the Syrian town of  in  today.

Just prior to the bombing of the UN convoy at around 1400 Eastern European Time (UTC+2), the Syrian military is said to have attacked a funeral procession and reportedly 20 people were killed in that incident. The attack on civilians by the Syrian military was reported by the .

According to Martin Nesirky, who is the UN spokesperson for Secretary-General , an IED bomb struck its four-vehicle convoy. UN personnel had to be left behind after the blast but no UN staff were injured. Later, the UN sent a patrol to pick up personnel left behind. Three UN marked vehicles were damaged.

A video uploaded to the video sharing website YouTube reportedly shows the UN convoy being targeted and bombed.

About a dozen civilians can be seen surrounding the lead car of the convoy talking to UN observers. Some civilians can be heard screaming. Several seconds later, a bomb explodes near what appears to be the lead car of the convoy severely damaging the front end of the vehicle and injuring several civilians. The lead car, still operating, begins to leave the area. The two other vehicles follow. According to reports, several civilians were injured and or killed in the attack. The UN has reportedly stated that none of their observers were injured. 

"We went to observe and after a while shooting occurred"; "We are safe with the  and we are waiting for a U.N. group to pick us up," said UN observers to . According to reports, the UN is seeking "to remove the observers from the area."

It is not yet known who was responsible for the attack on the UN convoy.