Kofi Annan quits role as UN's Syria envoy

AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini

Kofi Annan is stepping down as UN Arab League mediator in the 17-month-old Syria conflict at the end of the month, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on Thursday.

By NBC News staff and wire services

Kofi Annan blamed "finger pointing and name calling" within the U.N. Security Council among the reasons for his decision on Thursday to quit as the U.N.-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria.

"The world is full of crazy people like me. So don't be surprised if Secretary General Ban Ki-moon can find someone who can do a better job than me," Annan said when asked if he thought someone else would be named to succeed him.

"There may be other plans, other approaches that may work quite effectively," he said, adding that at this stage the focus should still be on a political transition which means "President (Bashar) al-Assad will have to leave sooner or later."

Annan's resignation is effective Aug. 31.

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Before Syrian reinforcement troops can reach Aleppo, the nation's largest city and commercial capital, they are being attacked by rebel forces in Arihah, a city situated on a key route. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement Thursday that Annan deserves "profound admiration for the selfless way in which he has put his formidable skills and prestige to this most difficult and potentially thankless of assignments." He added that the search for a successor is under way.

"The hand extended to turn away from violence in favor 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," the Secretary-General's statement read.

NBC News

People resisting the army of President Bashar al-Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting.

Recent days have seen Syria's uprising transformed from an insurgency in remote provinces into a battle for control of the two main cities, Aleppo, and the slightly smaller capital, Damascus, where fighting exploded about two weeks ago.?

Assad's forces have launched massive counter assaults in both cities.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/02/13087795-kofi-annan-quits-role-as-uns-syria-envoy?lite

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