BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The joint UN- envoy Kofi Annan has announced he will stand down from his role as mediator in the conflict within weeks. Annan said it was impossible for him to push for a political solution in Syria because of a lack of united international pressure.

Annan’s departure comes in the face of a 17-month armed rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, whose violence shows no sign of abating. Annan says his role has been plagued by deep divisions within the international community over how to resolve the conflict.

Kofi Annan, UN-AL special envoy to Syria, said, "At a time when we need, when the Syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council. I have therefore informed the Secretary-General of the UN and the Secretary-General of the Secretary-General of the Arab League today that I do not intend to continue my mission when my mandate expires at the end of August."

UN Secretary-General says he has accepted Annan’s resignation with deep regret, and is discussing possible successors with the Arab League.

The Syrian opposition says Annan’s resignation means the failure of the peace initiative. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has expressed its regret, blaming armed groups and their Western backers for the continuing violence.

Annan’s announcement of resignation comes as fighting intensifies in Syria’s two largest cities, Aleppo and the capital Damascus.

In Aleppo, rebels turned the gun of a captured tank against government forces, shelling a military airbase north of the city.

Previously, the spokeswoman for the UN mission in Syria said that international observers had witnessed warplanes firing on Aleppo, where intense fighting has been raging for 12 days. She also said that rebels there now possess heavy weapons like tanks. The source of the weapons is unclear.

Near Damascus, residents and activist organizations say government troops shelled and overran a suburb of the capital on Wednesday. They say dozens were killed, mostly unarmed civilians.

But Syrian state television says "dozens of terrorists and mercenaries surrendered or were killed" when the army raided the area.

(Source: CNTV.cn)