Annan: Risk of 'All-Out Civil War' Growing in Syria

He says world needs action, not words, from Assad
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2012 11:34 AM CDT
Annan: Threat of 'All-Out Civil War' Growing in Syria
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan arrives for an Arab League meeting in Doha, Qatar.   (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)

Kofi Annan's plan may be Syria's last hope for peace, but Annan himself didn't sound too optimistic today. "The specter of all-out civil war, with a worrying sectarian dimension, grows by the day," the UN envoy told a meeting of the Arab League in Qatar. Bashar al-Assad, he warned, "must make bold and visible steps immediately to radically change his military posture and honor his commitment to withdraw heavy weapons and cease all violence," he said, according to Reuters. "What is important is not the words he uses but the action he takes—now."

In other developments, from the BBC:

  • Lebanon: Related fighting broke out in neighboring Lebanon, with Alawite supporters of Assad clashing with Sunni residents of Tripoli. At least seven were killed and scores more injured.
  • Syria: Opposition officials say two civilians were killed during an army raid in Damascus, while rebels reportedly killed six soldiers in Deraa.
(More Syria stories.)

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