UN Dismisses Reports That Syria Envoy Quit

The United Nations has dismissed media reports that its special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, resigned.

"Media reports that Special Envoy de Mistura is resigning his post are not accurate. The special envoy remains fully engaged on his mission," the UN said in a November 24 statement.

Arabic media had reported earlier that de Mistura had informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he wanted to step down for personal reasons.

The 69-year-old diplomat was named to the post in July 2014, charged with the daunting task of trying to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Syria that has killed more than 250,000 people.

De Mistura told Swiss public TV network RTS last month that he had no plans to quit his job, despite the difficulty of the task.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters