Annan Named UN Envoy to Syria as Stranded Reporters Urge Aid
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Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be a special envoy to Syria for the UN and the Arab League, seeking to broker peace in a country on the brink of civil war as President Bashar al-Assad wages deadly attacks on civilians.
The appointment of the Ghanaian diplomat, who served as UN chief between 1997 and 2006, follows two failed attempts by the UN Security Council to compel Assad to stop the killings and give way to a national unity government. Annan will “engage with all relevant interlocutors within and outside Syria in order to end the violence and the humanitarian crisis and facilitate a peaceful Syrian-led and inclusive political solution,” according to a UN statement.