Annan calls for end to attacks in Israel, Lebanon

Condemning both sides, U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan Thursday called for an end to the bloody attacks in Israel and Lebanon.

Annan said that Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and the excessive response of the Israeli military had set back prospects for Mideast peace.

With recent reports of a possible Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon surfacing, Annan said that "there are serious obstacles to reaching a cease-fire or even to diminishing the violence quickly."


United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan speaks during a Security Council meeting in New York. Annan called for an immediate ceasefire. AFP/Timothy A. Clary photo via Yahoo News.