UN-Arab League envoy Annan to visit Syria

UN-Arab league envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, said on Wednesday he expected to visit Syria "fairly soon" and made a plea for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to engage with a bid to end the country's bloodiest turmoil in decades.

"I would expect to get to Syria fairly soon," Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, told reporters after meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. "I would plead with (Assad) that he should engage, not only with me but with the process we are launching."