Former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan has been appointed as the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis.

Annan's successor, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil ElAraby announced the appointment Thursday evening.

The announcement said Annan "will provide good offices aimed at bringing an end to all violence and human rights violations, and promoting a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis."

It said he will engage with parties inside and outside Syria to end the violence and the humanitarian crisis "and facilitate a peaceful Syrian-led and inclusive political solution that meets the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people."

Source: the Associated Press