UN's Ban urges Syrian president to end violence

UN's Ban urges Syrian president to end violence

2011-05-05 02:16:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday reiterated his call for an "immediate end" to violence against peaceful demonstrators in Syria during a telephone conversation with President Bashar al-Assad.

"The Secretary-General reiterated his calls for an immediate end to violence against and mass arrests of peaceful demonstrators in Syria, and for an independent investigation of all killings that happened during the protests, including the alleged killing of military and security officers," a statement released by UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said.

Ban also emphasized the urgency of meeting the humanitarian needs of the population and called on President Assad to grant access to the UN.

"The Secretary-General also encouraged full and early implementation of all the reform measures announced by the Syrian Government, and emphasized the importance of engaging a genuine inclusive dialogue and a comprehensive reform process," the statement added.

The UN Human Rights Council on Friday voted for sending a mission to the Middle East country to investigate the reported violations of international law after hundreds of people have been killed during weeks of unrest.

Kyung-wha Kang, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that over 450 people have reportedly been killed and three times that number injured due to the widespread use of live fire ammunition against protesters.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-05-05