A formal request for help has been made by the Arab League and the UN has agreed to start the training in Cairo after League foreign ministers meet this weekend, according to a UN spokesman.

Training will be carried out by staff of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"At the request of the League of Arab States, the OHCHR has agreed to train observers and will deploy to Cairo to do this training," a UN spokesman said.

A report by the observer mission is to be handed over to Arab League ministers on Thursday, January 17, and the ministers will meet on Saturday, Jan. 21, in Cairo to decide the future of the mission.

The spokesman said the training had been scheduled to start earlier but was delayed at the request of the Arab League until after the ministerial meeting.

The UN said in early January that it was ready to help the observer mission, which has faced widespread criticism from the Syrian opposition, but that it was waiting for a request from the Arab League, The Telegraph reported.