(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Syria on Thursday ( September 13) in his first trip to the country since taking up his post.<br/> <br />Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat who replaced former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the international mediator on September 1, was set to meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Thursday and was due to meet President Bashar al-Assad for talks aimed at addressing the conflict.<br/> <br />A statement issued by Brahimi's office said that he will also meet with members of the Syrian opposition.<br/> <br />Brahimi is accompanied by Mokhtar Lamani, who will remain in Damascus to assume his new functions as Head of the Office of the Joint Special Representative for Syria in Damascus.
