UN chief warns Syria over killing civilians

At least one person was killed in the latest violence and scores fled in fear of more government attacks.

Calling on the Syrian government to abide by a ceasefire, Mr Ban warned of the danger the violence could plunge the country into civil war.

His comments came amid warnings by the Free Syrian Army group of army defectors that if the government did not abide by the UN plan, brokered by former chief Kofi Annan, by ceasing fire and pulling out troops from residential areas by noon today, it will defend the people.

Speaking in Istanbul, Mr Ban said a united international community demands the Syrian government act on its responsibilities to its people. “The more the international community knows, the more likely it is that we can advance on our most important goal: to help find a political solution, a solution that safeguards the lives and interests of all the Syrian people.”

But he added: “Let me state plainly, however: The UN did not deploy in Syria just to bear witness to the slaughter of innocents. We are not there to play the role of passive observer to unspeakable atrocities.”

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Co-ordination Committees activist groups said yesterday government troops used heavy machine guns and mortars in Houla, a collection of farming villages in the central Homs province. Sniper fire killed one man.

Survivors of the Houla massacre have blamed pro-regime gunmen for at least some of carnage that began on Friday and left 108 people dead, many of them children and women. The Syrian government is blaming “armed terrorists” for the massacre.

In unexpected criticism, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for those responsible for the Houla massacre to be punished. He declined to say whom he believed was behind the attack.