GENEVA – Frustrated by Syria's escalating civil war, Kofi Annan announced Thursday that he will quit his high-profile role as special envoy to the country at the end of the month, giving reasons that amounted to scathing criticism of world powers' failure to unite to stop the chaos in the Arab state. He also asserted that Syrian President Bashar Assad must leave office for the good of his country. Annan told reporters that when he accepted the job, “which some called ‘Mission Impossible,'” he wanted to help the international community, led by the UN Security Council, find a peaceful solution to the crisis. The goal was to stop the killings of civilians and human rights abuses, as well as to place Syria on a path toward political transition. “The severity of the humanitarian costs of the conflict, and the exceptional threats posed by this crisis to international peace and security, justified the attempts to secure a peaceful transition to a political settlement, however daunting the challenge,” Annan said. But the former UN secretary-general told reporters that he cannot go on when the New York-based, 15-nation Security Council doesn't fully back him, particularly because of the stalemate between its five veto-wielding members: Russia and China on one side, the United States, Britain and France on the other. “Things fell apart in New York,” he summed up. “The increasing militarization on the ground (in Syria) and the clear lack of unity in the Security Council have fundamentally changed the circumstances for the effective exercise of my role.” “The bloodshed continues, most of all because of the Syrian government's intransigence, and continuing refusal to implement the six-point plan, and also because of the escalating military campaign of the opposition — all of which is compounded by the disunity of the international community,” Annan said. “At a time when we need — when the Syrian people desperately need action — there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council.” Annan also had harsh words for the Syrian government and what he called its “intransigence.” In what was his strongest statement to date about the Syrian leader, Annan wrote, “It is clear that President Bashar Al-Assad must leave office.” Annan's announcement coincided with Arab countries dropping a demand that Assad resign in the latest draft of a symbolic UN General Assembly resolution that faces a Friday vote in New York. The watered-down resolution further illustrated the international struggle to build an effective diplomatic approach to Syria's civil war. The draft resolution was resisted by countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa who had problems with calling for regime change or sanctions. Russia and China have vetoed stronger proposals on Syria in the Security Council, which, as the most powerful arm of the UN, can adopt enforceable resolutions and impose sanctions. – AP
