UN: No alternative to Annan peace plan

U.N. chief peacekeeper Herve Ladsous said on Thursday there is "no plan B" for Syria, urging all parties to implement the plan brokered by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to stop the deadly violence. Speaking to reporters as fighting raged across Syria between government troops and rebels, Ladsous said "everything should be done to reduce and put an end to the violence and that includes, of course, the use of heavy weapons by official forces." "At the same time, everything should contribute to the political process. And there is one political process for the time being, that is the six-point plan of the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan. "And as you know, and has been said time and again, there is no plan B. There is no alternative to that," he added. Annan brokered a six-point peace plan in March calling for an inclusive political process, a ceasefire, humanitarian assistance, release of arbitrarily detained persons, freedom of movement for journalists, and to allow peaceful demonstrations. The truce set for April 12 never took hold and the conflict has killed more than 19,000 people since it first erupted in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Syrians killing Syrians is something that should not continue," said Ladsous. Ladsous also stressed that the United Nations would remain engaged in Syria, although on July 20 the Security Council voted to extend the mandate of an observer mission for a "final" 30 days. "Contrary to what some of you have been thinking and writing, the U.N. is in no way packing and going home," Ladsous told reporters. "We will try our best to contribute to find a solution," he said. On Wednesday Ladsous said that half of the members of the 300-strong observer mission have left the country temporarily. On Thursday he added that these members "will be recalled to duty" should circumstances change.