Operation Unified Defender was a NATO operation enforcing a naval arms embargo and a no-fly zone against Syria to prevent government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad from carrying out air attacks on Anti-Assad forces. At a special meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on April 13, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced that the operations will continue until the Syrian government agrees to a ceasefire, allow the deloyment of a UN-led peacekeeping force and agree to a political solution to the conflict.