UN Syria Envoy Resigns

Kofi Annan is stepping down as U,N.-Arab League peace envoy for Syria, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday as battles raged throughout Syria.

After months of shuttle diplomacy, Annan has failed to produce a breakthrough in Syria’s 17-month-long crisis His diplomacy, including a cease-fire brokered in April, has failed to stop fighting between rebels and government forces.

Ban said a search for a replacement has begun.

“My consultations with the League of Arab States Secretary-General are under way with a view to the prompt appointment of a successor who can carry on this crucial peacemaking effort,” he said. “ I remain convinced that yet more bloodshed is not the answer; each day of it will only make the solution more difficult while bringing deeper suffering to the country and greater peril to the region.”

The secretary-general admitted his envoy’s efforts have not worked.

“Both the government and the opposition forces continue to demonstrate their determination to rely on ever-increasing violence,” he said. “In addition, the persistent divisions within the Security Council have themselves become an obstacle to diplomacy, making the work of any mediator vastly more difficult.”