Clinton, Annan to Discuss Syria Crisis

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is discussing the Syria crisis Friday with United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who has warned of an all out civil war in the country if the situation does not change course.

The meeting in Washington comes one day after the U.N. said its unarmed monitors were shot at and blocked from investigating the site of a recently reported massacre in central Hama province. Activists said at least 78 people, including women and children, were killed this week in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir.

Annan, whose peace plan brokered in April has not been implemented, warned Thursday against allowing “mass killings to become part of everyday reality in Syria.”

He called on the divided U.N. Security Council and the rest of the international community to unite and act immediately to intensify pressure, especially on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.