ETHIOPIA: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls on the Syrian leadership to end the violence in the country

Record ID: 280528

  • Title: ETHIOPIA: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls on the Syrian leadership to end the violence in the country
  • Date: 30th January 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 14th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ethiopia, Ethiopia
  • Country: Ethiopia
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA90QOL6TD4MK96CV9WI55L8FP0
  • Story Text: Around 2,000 Syrian troops backed by tanks launched an assault to retake Damascus suburbs from rebels on Sunday (January 29, 2012), activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of worsening violence.
    United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called on the Syrian leadership, particularly president Bashar al-Assad, to end the bloodshed immediately.
    "What is important at this time is not the monitoring mission. [The] monitoring mission may be helpful in assessing the situation. But even before [the] monitoring mission goes there, the Syrian leadership should take firm action, decisive action at this time to stop the violence. When it comes to violence, I think all the violence must stop. Particularly president Assad as the leader of Syria, he has a much more important responsibility to resolve this situation, engaging in political dialogue. And first and foremost, he must stop, immediately, the bloodshed," Ban said in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
    Faced with mass demonstrations against his rule, Assad launched a military crackdown to subdue the protests. Growing numbers of army deserters and gunmen have joined the demonstrators, increasing instability in the country of 23 million people at the heart of the Middle East.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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