Hillary Clinton: 'Syria ceasefire is an important step'

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told reporters that the Syria ceasefire is important but just a first step.

She also said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would "have to go".

The UN is preparing to send monitors to Syria after the first day of the ceasefire passed without major violations.

The UN estimates that about 9,000 people have died since anti-government protests began in March 2011. In February, the Syrian government put the death toll at 3,838 - 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.