Annan: Peace plan may be last chance for Syria to avoid civil war
- 12 years ago
Amateur video out of Syria shows the devastated streets of Homs.
The video, which could not be independently verified by Reuters, comes as the International Red Cross is saying that fighting has been so intense in parts of Syria that at times it has qualified as a localized civil war.
A UN backed ceasefire was announced for Syria on April 12. Now UN envoy Kofi Annan is warning that the peace plan may be the last chance for Syria to avoid civil war.
(SOUNDBITE) (English)U.N. ENVOY KOFI ANNAN, SAYING:
"I believe that that the U.N. supervision mission is possibly the only remaining chance to stabilize the country. And I am sure I am not telling you any secret when I tell you that there is a profound concern that the country could otherwise descend into full civil war, and the implications of that are quite frightening. We cannot allow that to happen."
The U.N. says more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began last March. And yet people continue to take to the streets calling for an end to the regime.
The Syrian government blames the violence on foreign backed insurgents and says more than 2,600 members of its security forces have been killed in the uprising.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.
The video, which could not be independently verified by Reuters, comes as the International Red Cross is saying that fighting has been so intense in parts of Syria that at times it has qualified as a localized civil war.
A UN backed ceasefire was announced for Syria on April 12. Now UN envoy Kofi Annan is warning that the peace plan may be the last chance for Syria to avoid civil war.
(SOUNDBITE) (English)U.N. ENVOY KOFI ANNAN, SAYING:
"I believe that that the U.N. supervision mission is possibly the only remaining chance to stabilize the country. And I am sure I am not telling you any secret when I tell you that there is a profound concern that the country could otherwise descend into full civil war, and the implications of that are quite frightening. We cannot allow that to happen."
The U.N. says more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began last March. And yet people continue to take to the streets calling for an end to the regime.
The Syrian government blames the violence on foreign backed insurgents and says more than 2,600 members of its security forces have been killed in the uprising.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.