U.N. names new Syria mediator
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The United Nations has appointed a new mediator for Syria at a time when the remaining U.N. monitors are leaving the violence-torn nation, according to media reports Saturday.
Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will take on the challenge of finding a diplomatic solution to the 17-month-old conflict, in which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has refused to step down, according to Reuters.
The news organization reported Saturday that the U.N. estimates more than 18,000 people have died in figghting since early 2011 and some 170,000 have fled the country.
Hundred of U.N. monitors went to Syria to observe a declared ceasefire in April that never really took hold. Their mission ends Sunday, reports said.
The Syrian government welcomed the naming of Brahimi as the U.N.'s new point man, Fox News said.
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