Annan to brief UN General Assembly on Syria

UNITED NATIONS - Kofi Annan, the joint special envoy of the UN and the Arab League, is to brief the UN General Assembly (GA) via vide olink on Thursday on the latest development in Syria, said the spokesperson for the GA president here on Wednesday.

GA President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser "will convene an informal meeting of the GA Thursday, April 5 at 10 am (EDT)" based on a phone call he had with Kofi Annan, said spokesperson Nihal Saad in an email to correspondents.

Annan is to brief the 193-member General Assembly "on the situation in Syria and the progress of his mission," Saad said, adding that the briefing will take place via videoconference.

Annan's briefing comes before the April 10 deadline he has proposed to end the year-long violence in the Middle East country, which was accepted by the Syrian government. But there is no sign at this moment that the Syrian opposition is ready to observe the deadline.

The United Nations said that about 9,000 people have been killed since the crisis broke out in Syria in March last year.

On March 21, the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement to endorse Annan's peace plan and called upon both the Syrian government and opposition to "work in good faith with" Annan "towards a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis" and to "implement fully and immediately his initial six-point proposal."

Annan's six-point plan calls for the withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centers, a daily two-hour halt in fighting for the delivery of humanitarian aid and treatment for the wounded, as well as talks between the government and the opposition.