Algerian agrees to replace Kofi Annan as envoy

Syria's government and rebels have "chosen the path of war", a UN peacekeeping chief said as the world body ended its doomed monitoring mission to Damascus and deadlock persists among world powers over how to contain the spreading conflict.

Two weeks after former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan quit as mediator in frustration with the failure of a four-month-old truce, military observers have no peace on the ground to monitor and UN officials said on Thursday the last of the few dozen remaining team members would quit Damascus by Aug 24.