Will Lakhdar Brahimi succeed where his predecessor failed?

Brahimi, the special envoy to Syria, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. His aim: try and broker a cease-fire in Syria before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins Friday.

But if history repeats itself, the odds of a cease-fire between Syrian government forces and rebels are stacked against Brahimi.

The man he replaced, Kofi Annan, made numerous trips to Damascus but was unable to halt the incessant violence.

Opposition activists say more than 30,000 people have been killed since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011.