Kofi Annan in bid to halt Syrian slaughter
Source: The Australian, AFP, The Times (?)
THE UN has named its former leader Kofi Annan as special envoy for Syria hours before an international conference aimed at pressuring the Assad regime to halt violence estimated to have killed 7500 people.
Amid global outrage over the deaths of two Western journalists and reports of intensified shelling of civilians, Mr Annan was called on to represent the UN and the Arab League in ending "violence and human rights violations, and promoting a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis", the two bodies said yesterday. The appointment came on the day international investigators submitted a list of Syrian military and political officials suspected of possible crimes against humanity while the toll continued to mount. More than 60 nations gathered overnight for the Friends of Syria summit, which was to seek to further isolate Bashar al-Assad's regime and support the opposition.
The Arab League-organised conference of Arab and Western officials, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was marked before it started by a Russian boycott and the absence of China. Both countries have frustrated efforts to rein in the Assad's regime, including by vetoing UN Security Council resolutions.
An early draft of the meeting's declaration circulated by opposition sources yesterday said it could call for the Syrian government "to implement an immediate ceasefire and to allow free and unimpeded access by the UN ... and humanitarian agencies".
Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/kofi-annan-in-bid-to-halt-syrian-slaughter/story-e6frg6so-1226280990522
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