Adviser to UN chief urges solutions to Mideast security crisis

A special adviser to UN chief from Algeria said on Monday that Arab world should find "prompt and durable solutions" to the growing security crisis in the region.

Lakhdar Brahimi, also former UN envoy to Syria, made the remarks at the ongoing International Government Communication Forum in the sheikdom of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

At the forum, Brahimi outlined the crucial role that regional governments can play in restoring peace and stability in Syria, saying that chaos in the region has contributed to the rise of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

"I urge governments to find quick and decisive solutions to the deteriorating security situation," he said.

The seasoned Algerian diplomat added that disagreements on a global level have slowed down the process of reaching common ground in ending the suffering of Syrian people.

"The outcome are the disastrous consequences we are witnessing now," he said referring to the ongoing turmoil that has been hitting several Arab countries since 2011.

The UN official said Lebanon is equally affected by regional and international events, adding that the country is hosting two million Syrian refugees, a number equivalent to half of the Lebanese population.

Brahimi, former Algerian foreign minister and ambassador to several countries, made history in 1989, when, as the special envoy of the Arab League Tripartite Committee, he brokered Al Taif Agreement which ended the 17-year long Lebanese civil war that lasted from 1975 until 1991.

He was appointed by the UN as the peace envoy to Syria in August, 2012 to replace former UN chief Kofi Annan, and resigned the post in May last year. Endit