Syria approved Monday the visit of Valerie Amos, UN emergency relief coordinator and under- secretary general for humanitarian affairs, state-run SANA news agency reported.

Amos will set foot in Syria Tuesday night, the report said, adding that Amos would hold talks with Foreign Minister Walid al- Moallem, his deputy and the head of Syrian Red Crescent.

"Amos would also visit some areas across Syria," said SANA.

Amos has been attempting to enter Syria at the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who asked her to visit the country and evaluate the humanitarian situation there.

Last week, Amos said that she was "deeply disappointed" that she had not yet been able to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation and meet with some of the country's top officials.

Also Monday, SANA quoted what it called "media source" as saying that Syria also welcomed the visit of Kofi Annan, the UN- Arab League (AL) special envoy to Syria.

Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told Xinhua Monday his country welcomed the upcoming visit of Kofi Annan but stressed that "we are waiting for his response to set the date of the visit."

Asked to comment on AL Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi's statement that Annan is due to visit Syria on March 10, Makdissi said "we have nothing to do with the Arab League," adding that they have informed Annan of their approval on his visit but the date "is not determined yet."

Last month, The United Nations and the AL appointed former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan as special joint envoy to handle the year-long Syrian crisis.

Syria's government said last December that "armed terrorist groups" had killed more than 2,000 army and security personnel, while the UN said recently that "well over" 7,500 people have died in Syria's violence.