TURKEY: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-MooN calls for decisive international action to prevent further loss of lives in Syria

Record ID: 280828

  • Title: TURKEY: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-MooN calls for decisive international action to prevent further loss of lives in Syria
  • Date: 2nd June 2012
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JUNE 01, 2012) (REUTERS) U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI MOON, TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU AND SOMALIAN PRESIDENT SHARIF SHEIKH AHMED ARRIVING FOR A NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AND DELEGATES (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI MOON SAYING: "I fondly believe that if international community knows more, it will be better positi
  • Embargoed: 17th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAC4GXDYMBVBWA2SYR9HJAU3RP5
  • Story Text: The escalating violence in Syria shows the urgent need for the international community to take bolder steps, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference in Istanbul on Friday (June 1).
    Ban voiced fears a day earlier that any repeat of the massacre of civilians a week ago in Houla could tip Syria into a civil war, and drag neighbouring countries into a bloody sectarian conflict.
    "If the escalating violence shows anything, it is that we urgently need bolder steps," Ban told a news conference at the end of an international meeting on aid for Somalia.
    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said that at least 20 people were killed in gunfire and clashes in Syria on Friday. The Observatory added that hundreds of thousands of civilians attended opposition protests around the country.
    Activists say 50 to 100 people have died daily this week, including civilians, soldiers and anti-Assad rebels.
    Syrian forces and pro-government militia accused of committing a massacre in Houla could face prosecution for crimes against humanity, the United Nations said on Friday and rights experts said Syrian authorities had directly ordered torture.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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