The United States has announced that, the United Nations has announced that the veteran Algerian diplomat, Lakhdar Brahimi, would be the new UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria. Mr. Brahimi, who is a former Algerian foreign minister, takes over from Kofi Annan-who resigned earlier this month. Barbara Plett reports.
In announcing the appointment, the Secretary General said that the diplomacy to prompt a peaceful resolution of the Syrian conflict was a top priority for the UN. He added that Lakhdar Brahimi would need a strong, clear and unified support of the international community including the Security Council. The deep divisions over Syria in the Council was one of the main reasons Kofi Annan resigned the post. Diplomats said Mr. Brahimi had sought a strong
endorsement
from the Council before taking up the position, but the divide is seen as deep as ever.
The French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, has said that the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad does not
deserve to
be on the Earth. After visiting Syrian refugee camps in Turkey, Mr. Fabius said that the Syrian government had to be beaten fast.
The Turkish government has confirmed that a second Turkish citizen has been kidnapped in Lebanon and it has warned its nationals against traveling to the country. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have already urged their citizens to leave Lebanon following
a spate of
abductions earlier this week by a Shia Muslim clan