Annan to meet opposition Syrian National Council in Ankara on Tuesday

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will meet representatives of the opposition Syrian National Council in Ankara on Tuesday, a spokesman for the envoy told Reuters.

Annan said on Monday the world must send a clear and united message that the killing of civilians in Syria is "simply unacceptable" as he arrived in Turkey after weekend talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.    

Annan told reporters in Ankara, before meeting with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, that he was trying to get everbody to the table through a political process, while ensuring that humanitarian access is opened and the killing of civilians halted.

Annan left Syria on Sunday without a deal to end the bloody year-old conflict there as regime forces mounted a new assault on rebel strongholds in the north, close to the Turkish border.        

The violence has led to a spike in Syrian civilians fleeing to Turkey. More than 1,000 have crossed the border in the past week, increasing the number of refugees in Turkey to about 12,500. They are among more than 100,000 refugees who also fled to Lebanon and Jordan.       

The U.N. estimates Syria's crackdown has killed more than 7,500 people so far.

AP/Reuters