UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls for arms embargo on Syria
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged the Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Syria, in a rallying cry for international action to end the country\’s devastating civil war.
Speaking Friday at the Asia Society in New York, the U.N. chief called foreign powers "irresponsible" for giving military support to parties committing atrocities in the war-torn country. Russia has vetoed four resolutions on its ally, Syria, protecting it and blocking efforts intended to end the war.
"If divisions in the Council continue to prevent such a step, I urge countries to do so individually," said Ban on Friday.
The United States is supplying rebels with "non-lethal" aid – such as radios, trucks and training. But some US officials say small arms and anti-tank missiles are also being given.
"Syria\’s neighbours should enforce a firm prohibition on the use of their land borders and airspace for arms flows and smuggling into Syria," he said.
A car bomb in Syria\’s western Hama province killed 34 and wounded more than 50, Syria\’s state news agency SANA said on Friday, blaming the attack on rebels fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
The SANA news agency said Friday in a short dispatch that another 50 people were wounded in the explosion in al-Hurra village.
It quoted police as saying that "terrorists blew up a truck loaded with about 3 tons of explosives, which caused the destruction of a large number of houses in the village."
Syrian authorities use the term "terrorists" to refer to rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashir al-Assad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed Friday\’s attack, but said 37 were killed and more than 40 wounded. The Britain-based rights group said the death toll was likely to rise, as many were seriously hurt in the pre-dawn bombing
The Islamic Front rebel coalition claimed responsibility for the attack, saying on Twitter that it was targeting a gathering of government militants.
The fighting escalated into a war that activists say has killed more than 160,000 people. The United Nations says 2.8 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries to escape the conflict, while 6.5 million others are displaced within Syria.
Source – Agencies
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