Syria denounces envoy, denies civil war

DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Syria dismissed comments by a U.N. envoy that the country's conflict is a civil war, its foreign ministry said in a statement Monday.

After peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who was appointed by the U.N. Security Council to replace Kofi Annan, told the French news service France 24 Sunday, "There are a lot of people who say we must avoid civil war in Syria. I believe that it has been the case for some time now. What we need to do is stop the civil war and that is not going to be easy," the Syrian government reacted angrily, the Syrian news agency SANA reported.

"To speak of civil war in Syria contradicts reality and is found only in the head of conspirators," the foreign ministry statement said.