Veteran diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will renew his contract as Syrian peace joint envoy for the United Nations and Arab League for six months, a UN spokesman said late Wednesday, dpa reported.
His current contract is to expire Friday.
Brahimi took over in August as envoy for Syria, where an estimated 70,000 people have died in a now two-year uprising.
He succeeded former UN chief Kofi Annan, who quit after failing to convince the Syrian regime to halt its crackdown, or Syrian allies Russia and China to allow UN Security Council sanctions against Damascus.