Tag Archive | Kofi Annan
Syrians defiant as world powers plan talks
As the protests unfolded, the opposition Local Coordination Committees urged officers and soldiers to defect, as many already have. “If you defect in greater numbers and sooner rather than later, you can spare Syria from further tragedies and pain,” the LCC said in an appeal to the army. “Syrian young men, defect from the regime’s […]
For Barack Obama, Syria is best forgotten this election year
The ordeal of Syria has been a rebuttal of what the diplomacy of Barack Obama once promised and stood for. It is largely forgotten now that Syria and Iran were the two regimes in the Greater Middle East that Obama had promised to “engage.”
U.N.: Syria monitoring mission has outlived its usefulness
Speaking to the press outside the U.N. Security Council in New York on Tuesday, Gen. Robert Mood, the head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria, and U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, put on a brave face, assuring the Syrian people that the United Nations would not abandon them in their hour of need.
Syria civilians need to be evacuated, U.N. observer chief says
Gen. Robert Mood urges both sides to allow women, children, the elderly and the injured to leave conflict zones and ensure their safety. By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times June 17, 2012, 11:01 p.m. BEIRUT — The head of the United Nations observer mission in Syria on Sunday urged both sides in the conflict […]
Western Allies Seek New Path on Syria
BEIRUT—The head of the United Nations mission in Syria said a surge in attacks by both sides in the conflict was impeding the work of its monitors there, as the government’s use of attack helicopters spurred new talk of other options to stop the bloodshed.
Syria: Shabiha Militia Member Tells It Like It Is
An active member of Syria’s feared shabiha militia says he is in a “win or die” fight for his president (and a little bit of cash). LATTAKIA, Syria and BEIRUT, Lebanon | As Syria descends into civil war, Abu Jaafar said he is ready to kill women and children to defend his friends, family and […]
U.N. Team In Syria Is Imperiled, Leader Says
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the head of the United Nations observer mission in Syria, presented a gloomy assessment of its prospects on Friday, even as the government and its opposition accused each other of fomenting bloodshed around the weekly Muslim prayer services.
Smell of death greets UN monitors in Syrian town
BEIRUT — Smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed cars and a strong stench of death greeted U.N. observers who entered the nearly deserted Syrian town of Haffa on Thursday, a day after President Bashar Assad’s forces overran it as part of a major offensive to recover rebel-controlled territories.
Civil War Designation for Syria Would Trigger Humanitarian Protections
This week a senior U.N. official said the situation in Syria could be characterized as a civil war, adding his voice to that of several foreign ministers and other diplomats.
France wants U.N. to be able to enforce Annan plan
(Reuters) – France will propose giving the United Nations the power to enforce Kofi Annan’s Syrian peace plan, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday, adding that a no-fly zone was an option under consideration to stem what was now a civil war.
Syrian Affairs 