DAMASCUS: The UN Security Council was to weigh a draft statement on Tuesday warning Syria of “further measures” if it fails to cooperate with peace envoy Kofi Annan, as fresh violence struck Damascus. Russian support for a daily humanitarian truce had raised hopes of a breakthrough at the Security Council but on Tuesday Moscow made …
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis / Reuters AMMAN: Heavily armed forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad pounded the southern city of Deraa with anti-aircraft fire on Wednesday, reasserting control over rebel strongholds a year after the start of the Syrian revolt. On the diplomatic front, the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was considering Damascus’s response to “concrete …
By Dominic Evans and Alistair Lyon / Reuters BEIRUT: Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, on a difficult peace mission to Syria, held a second day of talks with President Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday as Syrian forces pursued a drive to crush rebel bastions in the northwest. A UN spokesman said the two men had resumed …
By AFP DAMASCUS: Syrian activists voiced growing fears on Friday of a major assault like the one that devastated the Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr, on the eve of a first visit by new international envoy Kofi Annan. Troop reinforcements backed by tanks were massing in the northwestern province of Idlib, close to the Turkish …
By Samer Al-Atrush /AFP CAIRO: United Nations and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, warned Thursday that further militarization in Syria will worsen a conflict there that has left thousands dead in a year. The former UN chief said he feared any miscalculation on the issue risked destabilizing the region. “I believe further militarization …
By Edmund Blair / Reuters CAIRO: Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria, will urge government and opposition to halt violence and seek a political settlement after a year of conflict when he makes his first trip to Damascus on Saturday, he said on Thursday. World powers have met behind closed doors at the …
By AFP CAIRO: The Arab League on Monday named Palestinian diplomat Nasser al-Qudwa to serve as former UN chief Kofi Annan’s deputy in his role as international envoy to conflict-stricken Syria. Arab League chief Nabil Al-Araby said that Qudwa, a former foreign minister, had agreed to take on “this very difficult mission during a critical …
