The Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan for Syria refers to the joint UN-Arab League peace mission, headed by

Lakhdar Brahimi Lakhdar Brahimi ( Algerian pronunciation: ; ar, الأخضر الإبراهيمي; '; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria until 14 May 2014. He was M ...

in order to resolve the Syria Crisis. On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

, who had previously resigned, following the collapse of his cease fire attempt.

Background

The

peace plan for Syria or the Six-point peace plan for Syria,"Text of Annan's six-point peace plan for Syria"
Douglas Hamilton, Reuters, 4 April 2012. launched in February 2012, is considered the most serious international attempt to

resolve Resolve may refer to: * ''Resolve'' (Lagwagon album) * ''Resolve'' (Last Tuesday album) * "Resolve" (song), by the Foo Fighters *'' The Resolve'', a 1915 American silent short drama film * "Resolve" (''One Tree Hill'' episode) *''Resolve'', a Brit ...

the Syrian civil war in the Middle East diplomatically. The peace plan enforced a cease-fire to take place across Syria since 10 April 2012, though in reality the cease-fire was announced by the Syrian government on 14 April. Following the

Houla massacre The Houla massacre ( ar, مجزرة الحولة) was a mass murder of civilians by Syrian government forces that took place on May 25, 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, in the town of Taldou, in the Houla Region of Syria, a string ...

and the consequent Free Syrian Army (FSA) ultimatum to the Syrian government, the cease-fire practically collapsed towards the end of May 2012, as the FSA began nationwide offensives against the government troops. On 1 June, the

Syrian President The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, to ...

Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush the anti-government uprising, after the FSA announced that it was resuming “defensive operations.” Following a prolonging discourse of the peace mission, Kofi Annan resigned on 2 August 2012. On 17 August,

was appointed the new UN-Arab League peace envoy for Syria.

Chronology

Appointment

On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing

. Following initial consultations and meetings of Lakhdar Brahimi with Syrian President Assad, Russian, Chinese, as well as other officials, a cease fire attempt was announced towards late October, in order to respect the Muslim holiday of

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...

Eid al-Adha cease fire attempt

Brahimi appealed on both the Syrian government and the armed opposition to stop the violence during the Islamic festival of

, which fell that year probably on 26 October 2012, and 3 or 4 days after it. The government and most opposition groups agreed, but fighting soon resumed when the parties accused each other of continued violence.

China visit

On 31 October 2012, Brahimi spoke in Beijing with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi about Syria. Afterwards, Yang said he supported a “political transition” in Syria, and supported Brahimi’s mediation efforts.

References