Speaking over the weekend, the UN's new envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said that “urgent change” was needed in Syria. In an interview with Arab media, Brahimi said that the government of Bashar al-Assad was chiefly responsible for the violence in Syria, and that it was up to Assad to do something to break the cycle of violence between the government and rebels.

Brahimi said that he would begin forging a plan on how to end the violence after his first visit to Syria. He has not scheduled a date for that visit, however.