Annan in Syria for Assad talks

UN special envoy Kofi Annan has arrived in Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The visit comes a day after Annan acknowledged in an interview that the international community’s efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed.

Annan is the architect of the most prominent international plan to end the 16-month crisis in Syria which activists say has left well over 14,000 people dead.

Annan’s six-point plan was to begin with a cease-fire in mid-April between government forces and rebels seeking to topple Assad but the truce never took hold.

A statement issued today by UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi did not give details of Annan’s schedule in Damascus.