Dubai Kofi Annan, UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria and former UN secretary-general, Thursday drew angry rebukes from dissidents for saying that the solution to the Syria crisis lies in a political settlement between Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and the opposition.
His comments came as UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who was yesterday permitted entry into Syria after nearly a week of uncertainty, said that Baba Amr, the restive neighbourhood in Homs, was completely destroyed.
Speaking in Cairo before talks with Arab League chief Nabeel Al Arabi, Annan said: "As I move to Syria, we will do whatever we can to urge and press for a cessation of hostilities and end to the killing and violence."
Annan, who is due in Damascus tomorrow, added, "But, of course, ultimately the solution lies in a political settlement."
Military intervention
On the prospect of military intervention, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said yesterday that regional powers should try and find a solution to the crisis while Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki said, "arming insurgents and foreign intervention would only complicate the situation".
US Senator John Kerry urged the world to act "responsibly".
Speaking to Reuters in Damascus after a meeting with ministers, Amos said: "The devastation there [Baba Amr] is significant, that part of Homs is completely destroyed and I am concerned to know what has happened to the people who live in that part of the city."
Amos's comment came as Syria's deputy oil minister announced his defection in an online video that emerged yesterday, making him the highest ranking official to abandon Al Assad since the uprising started.
"I am joining the revolution of the people who reject injustice and the brutal campaign of the regime, which is seeking to crush the people's demand for freedom and dignity," Abdo Hussam Al Deen said amid confusion over the video's authenticity.
On the ground, 17 people, including a girl, were killed in different areas of the country according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.
Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid workers who entered Baba Amr on Wednesday found it empty.
The UN said it was readying food stocks for 1.5 million people in Syria as part of a 90-day emergency plan to help civilians deprived of basic supplies.
"More needs to be done," John Ging of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told a one-day Syria Humanitarian Forum. "There is a huge amount of concern.
