DAMASCUS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A leading Syrian opposition figure said Friday that the new special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi can' t be a repetition or a copy of his predecessor Kofi Annan.
Hasan Abdul-Azim, head of the oppositional National Coordination Body (NCB), made the remarks Friday to reporters after meeting with Brahimi who is on a three-day visit to Syria.
"He cannot be a repetition or a copy of Kofi Annan's plan," said Abdul-Azim, adding that Brahimi should have qualitative additions and efforts.
He said that Brahimi has "a big convincing power, especially that he is from the region... he also has regional and international influence."
Meanwhile, head of the Syrian Arab Committee for Human Rights Mohammad Mori said his organization discussed with Brahimi on Friday about the Syrian crisis, particularly the humanitarian aspect.
In an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of his meeting with Brahimi, Mori said that about 3 million Syrians are internally displaced and other half a million have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
He said Brahimi had listened to the points of views of the Damascus-based opposition on Friday, adding that the opposition at home also invited him to attend the meeting of the Syrian opposition which is slated for Sept. 23 in the capital Damascus.
Mori also renewed the internal opposition's stance of rejecting foreign military intervention in Syria or militarization of the crisis.
A day earlier, Brahimi met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, during which al-Moallem pledged "full cooperation" with the new representative's mission.
Moallem cautioned, however, that success would depend on the stances of countries that he said were "arming, financing and training armed terrorist groups."
After meeting with a number of opponents, Brahimi will meet Saturday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
While this drags on, the violence on ground continued unabatedly Friday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as many as 60 people had been killed across the unrest-torn country Friday, adding that 43 of them were unarmed civilians.
The Observatory also said government troops bombarded Friday a number of districts in the battered Aleppo city in northern Syria.
It said clashes took place Friday in the Damascus' districts of Hajar al-Aswad and the adjacent Tadamun, which have emerged as two hotspots in the capital.
Meanwhile, the state media said the Syrian troops have cleansed a number of districts in Aleppo and killed scores of the "armed terrorists."
SANA news agency said the government forces also tracked down armed groups in the Damascus' suburbs of Hajjira and Saida Zainab on Friday, adding that heavy losses had been inflicted on the armed insurgents.
It also said that similar army operations took place at Talbiseh and Rastan in central Homs province, causing big losses among the armed militias.
The Syrian crisis has been dragging on since March last year. Activists claim that about 2,000 people have so far been killed during the crisis while local media said some 8,000 army and security personnel have been killed during the 18-months-old crisis.
Brahimi said in Damascus Thursday that the Syrian crisis is " big and exacerbating."
Brahimi is tasked with brokering a diplomatic solution to the conflict after replacing former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who stepped down as the UN-Arab League (AL) joint special envoy in August in frustration after his six-point peace plan went up in smoke.
DAMASCUS, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Visiting UN-Arab League special representative Lakhdar Brahimi said here upon arrival that there is a "big crisis" in Syria and it is "exacerbating" as the violence went on in several hotspots nationwide claiming the lives of many people.
"I think no one would disagree on the necessity to stop the bleeding and restore harmony among the sons of the country and I hope we could do that," he said. Full story
DAMASCUS, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The UN-Arab League joint special representative Lakhdar Brahimi had a candid and comprehensive discussion with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem about the Syrian crisis, Brahimi's spokesman said here Thursday.
Brahimi "expressed his own concern over the welfare of the Syrian people and said that in this mission his only masters were the Syrian people and their welfare and security were his priority, " Ahmad Fawzi told reporters in Damascus after the meeting of Moallem and Brahimi. Full story
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