Special envoy urges Syria peace

The United Nations-Arab League special envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, urged peace after talks with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby on Thursday.

"I hope no one is thinking very seriously of using force in this situation. I believe any further militarization will make the situation worse," the former UN secretary general told reporters in Cairo.

"We have to be careful that we don't introduce a medicine that is worse than the disease. We don't have to go very far in the region to find an example of what I am talking about," Annan said.

Annan is scheduled to travel to Damascus on Saturday, where he will likely meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Baba Amr 'devastated'

Also on Thursday, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos related her impressions from a brief visit through the Baba Abr district of Homs.

"The devastation there is significant. That part of Homs is completely destroyed and I am concerned to learn what happened to the people in that part of the city," she told reporters.

Amos was the first independent observer allowed into the area since the military strikes began there. Two Western journalists were killed there in February.

Amos' goal was to secure access for aid organizations, which were restricted from the hardest hit conflict areas.

The UN estimates more than 7,500 civilians have been killed since the Arab Spring uprising began last year, while Assad's government claims more than 2,000 members of security forces have been killed by rebels.

sjt/ncy (Reuters, AP)