Annan deputy blocked by Damascus

UNITED NATIONS: The Syrian government is stopping an Arab deputy to UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan from entering the country, diplomats said Wednesday.

Nasser al-Qudwa, a former Palestinian foreign minister who is in charge of contacts with Syrian groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, has had several applications to go to Damascus turned down since he was named in March, diplomats said.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, Annan's other deputy envoy, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Qudwa had again been stopped from accompanying Annan to Damascus when he went there this week, diplomats said.

"Nasser al-Qudwa still has no access to Damascus and that in itself is inacceptable," France's deputy UN ambassador Martin Briens told reporters. AFP