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More than 60 nations are gathering in Tunisia for the crucial "Friends of Syria" conference
Syrians rally outside the US Embassy in Amman to demand a US military intervention and a no fly zone to stop the violence in Syria. The UN named its former leader Kofi Annan as special envoy for Syria on the eve of an international conference Friday aimed at pressuring the Assad regime to halt the rising spiral of violence. © Khalil Mazraawi - AFP
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Assad's regime brushed off outrage over the deaths of two Western journalists in Homs
A Syrian woman walks past a billboard with a slogan which reads in Arabic: "Constitution.. Syria will stay forever.. Freedom of faith.. Down with the traitor Arab states" in Damascus. The UN named its former leader Kofi Annan as special envoy for Syria on the eve of an international conference Friday aimed at pressuring the Assad regime to halt the rising spiral of violence. © Louai Beshara - AFP
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Wounded French reporter urges evacuation from Syria Duration:00:58
French reporter who was wounded in the Syrian city of Homs said Thursday she needs urgent medical attention and asked to be evacuated quickly, in a video posted on YouTube by anti-regime activists. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says he has asked Damascus for her evacuation. Duration:00:58 © - AFPTV/YouTube
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EU diplomats have said the 27-nation bloc is set to slap fresh sanctions on Damascus
Syrians shop at a street market in central Damascus. The UN named its former leader Kofi Annan as special envoy for Syria on the eve of an international conference Friday aimed at pressuring the Assad regime to halt the rising spiral of violence. © Louai Beshara - AFP
UN ex-chief Kofi Annan named envoy as pressure mounts on Syria
Last updated: February 24, 2012
Arab and Western nations in Tunisia for the first "Friends of Syria" meeting called Friday for an immediate end to violence in the country and for new sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
In a final declaration, the group called for the regime to immediately end all violence to allow for humanitarian aid to be brought in.
"The Friends' Group called on the Syrian government immediately to cease all violence and to allow free and unimpeded access by the UN and humanitarian agencies," it said.
"It demanded that the Syrian regime immediately permit humanitarian agencies to deliver vital relief goods and services to civilians affected by the violence," it said.
It also vowed to "press the Syrian regime to stop all acts of violence" by enforcing current sanctions and introducing new ones, including with travel bans, asset freezes, ceasing oil purchases, reducing diplomatic ties and preventing the shipment of arms.
"Participants committed to take steps to apply and enforce restrictions and sanctions on the regime and its supporters as a clear message to the Syrian regime that it cannot attack civilians with impunity," it said.
It also recognised the main opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Council (SNC), as "a legitimate representative of Syrians seeking peaceful democratic change" but fell short of giving it exclusive recognition.
The declaration did not fully endorse some Arab calls for peacekeepers to be deployed to Syria, with the declaration saying only that it "noted the Arab League's request to the United Nations Security Council to issue a resolution to form a joint Arab-UN peacekeeping force".
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