UNITED NATIONS — Lakhdar Brahimi resigned Tuesday as the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria after trying for nearly two years to overcome “almost impossible odds” to end a civil war that has claimed more than 150,000 lives, the U.N. chief announced Tuesday.
With Brahimi at his side, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon blamed the failure of the peace effort on the warring parties, but especially the Syrian government. He also blamed the deeply divided Security Council and countries with influence on the fighting sides. Ban pledged to keep working to achieve peace and urged all involved to rethink what they can do to bring hope to the Syrian people.
Ban said Brahimi will step down May 31. He said he will appoint a successor but gave no timetable.
Brahimi “faced almost impossible odds with the Syrian nation, Middle Eastern region, and wider international community that have been hopelessly divided in their approaches to ending the conflict,” Ban said. “He has persevered with great patience and skill.”
Brahimi is the second U.N.-Arab envoy to quit after failing to achieve a breakthrough in the more than 3-year-old conflict between the regime of President Bashar Assad and rebel groups.
When Brahimi took over from his longtime friend, former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, he said it would be “an extremely complicated and very, very difficult mission.” On Tuesday, he indicated he could see no end in the near future to the bloodshed.
“I’m sure that the crisis will end — but the question is how many more dead? How much more destruction?” Brahimi asked. “It’s very sad that I leave this position and leave Syria behind in such a bad state.”
