Kofi Annan to quit Syria role

02 August 2012

Kofi Annan has announced he is to quit his role as the joint United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria at the end of August.

The news was announced by current UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who said Annan deserved "profound admiration" for attempting to solve the Syria crisis and that a replacement would be appointed soon.

Annan developed a six-point peace plan in an attempt to end the ongoing violence in April this year, when fighting had already plagued the country for over a year.

Official estimates now say that more than two million people have been displaced by the violence and nearly three million are said to need food, crops and livestock assistance. Over 10,000 civilians are also said to have been killed in the fighting.

"Tragically, the spiral of violence in Syria is continuing," Ban said in a statement.

"The hand extended to turn away from violence in favour of dialogue and diplomacy - as spelled out in the six-point plan - has not been taken, even though it still remains the best hope for the people of Syria.

"Both the government and the opposition forces continue to demonstrate their determination to rely on ever-increasing violence. In addition, the persistent divisions within the Security Council have themselves become an obstacle to diplomacy, making the work of any mediator vastly more difficult."

Annan himself is said to have blamed "finger pointing and name calling" in the Security Council for the failure of his plan and, ultimately, his decision to quit.

Russia, which supported Annan's peace plan while vetoing plans for across-the-board sanctions put before the Security Council, said it "regretted" Annan's resignation.

The country's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said: "We have supported very strongly Kofi Annan's efforts. He has another month to go, and I hope this month is going to be used as effectively as possible under these very difficult circumstances."