UN’s Ban says hopes security council united on Syria

UN’s Ban says hopes security council united on Syria

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday he hoped the Security Council would reflect international will when it deliberates a draft resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit power.

January 31, 2012 3:16 by Reuters

“I sincerely hope the Security Council will be united and speak in a coherent manner reflecting the wishes of the international community,” he told reporters in the Jordanian capital. “This is crucially important.”

The Arab League, backed by the United States, France and Britain will ask the Council on Tuesday to adopt the resolution. Russia, one of Syria’s few allies, has objected to it on the grounds it could pave the way for military intervention in Syria.

China, which like Russia has a veto in the council, also has reservations about the draft. Russia and China vetoed a European-drafted resolution in October that condemned Syria and threatened it with sanctions.

“I don’t think we can go on like this,” Ban said.

Syria’s crackdown on an uprising had gone on despite a now-suspended Arab League monitoring mission and that action was needed to stop the bloodshed, he said.

“Even with the monitoring missions having been there, more than a few hundred have been killed…every day tens of people are killed…this should stop immediately,” he said. “It is crucially important for the Security Council to act on this.” (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Writing by Joseph Logan; Editing by Angus MacSwan) *image from globeinternational.info