Algerian to lead UN Syrian peace drive

Mr Brahimi, who served as a UN envoy in Afghanistan and Iraq, formally accepted the post and will resume efforts to find a diplomatic solution to Syria’s crisis, said Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

“The violence and the suffering in Syria must come to an end,” Mr del Buey said. “The Secretary-General appreciates Mr Brahimi’s willingness to bring his considerable talents and experience to this crucial task for which he will need, and rightly expects, the strong, clear and unified support of the international community, including the Security Council.”

Mr Annan announced earlier this month that he would resign on August 31 as joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, after failing to broker a ceasefire as the country descended into civil war. The UN says at least 18,000 people have been killed since March 2011.

Mr Brahimi, 78, brings a long record of working in the Arab and Islamic world. He served as Algeria’s foreign minister from 1991-93 and joined the UN in 1994, where he served in a variety of high-profile posts until 2005.

As an Arab League envoy, he helped negotiate the end of Lebanon’s civil war.

Mr Annan said when he announced his resignation on August 2 that the Security Council’s divisions prevented effective action. Russia and China have used their veto power three times to block strong Western and Arab sanctions against President Bashar Assad’s regime.

On Thursday the UN agreed to end its military observer mission in Syria from Sunday. It had been severely limited by the violence in Syria, and members have been mainly confined to their hotels since June 15.