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Summary Lakhdar Brahimi has said that the deadly conflict in Syria was getting worse.
Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said on Thursday the deadly conflict in Syria was getting worse as he arrived on his first official trip aimed at ending nearly 18 months of violence.We came to Syria to hold meetings with our Syrian brothers because there is a big crisis, and I think it is getting worse, the official SANA news agency quoted the UN-Arab League envoy as saying at Damascus airport.I think everybody agrees the need to stop the bloodshed and to restore harmony, and we hope that we will succeed, said Brahimi, who succeeded former envoy Kofi Annan who quit in frustration after his six-point peace plan for Syria foundered.Brahimi spoke after rebels were reported to have advanced into a key district of the northern city of Aleppo, where activists said at least 11 people were killed in a strike by a helicopter gunship.Brahimi later met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who said he was committed to ensure the success of Mr. Brahimis mission, the peace envoys spokesman Ahmad Fawzi.During the talks Brahimi emphasised that he would spare no effort to help find solution to the crisis, he said.His only masters in this endeavour were the Syrian people whose welfare and security were his prime concern. He has come to Damascus to listen and would also be meeting with representatives of the opposition and civil society, he added.Fawzi had said that Brahimi would be meeting President Bashar al-Assad. On Friday he is due to meet members of opposition groups tolerated by the Syrian regime.Brahimi was accompanied by Mokhtar Lamani, who will remain in Damascus to assume his new functions as head of office for the Joint Special Representative for Syria in the city.Earlier Moallems deputy, Faisal Muqdad said: We trust that Brahimi has a general understanding of the developments and of the way to solve problems despite the complexities. We are optimistic and we wish Brahimi success.However, the veteran Algerian diplomat highlighted to Arab League envoys in Cairo this week that he knows he faces an uphill struggle, with no sign of a lull in the violence.He told the envoys that he was approaching the crisis in Syria with his eyes open and the full knowledge that it was an extremely difficult task, a UN spokeswoman said.
