Lakhdar Brahimi said the
violence in Syria was "getting worse every day" Syria conflict
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has appealed
for Iranian help to implement a ceasefire in Syria over the upcoming Muslim
holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Following a visit to Tehran, Mr Brahimi said such a ceasefire could "allow a
political process to develop".
Turkey says it is now housing more than 100,000 Syrian refugees in its camps.
Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, have
backed Mr Brahimi's efforts and approved fresh sanctions on Syria.
The sanctions include a freeze on the assets and travel bans on 28 Syrians
and two firms.
Inside Syria, the Umayyad Mosque in the old city of Aleppo was reported to
have been badly damaged in fighting between government forces and rebels over
the weekend.
Syrian TV reported that President Bashar al-Assad had ordered immediate
repairs to the mosque, which is the most important in the city and lies within
the Unesco world heritage site.
Unesco had appealed last week for the protection of "one of the most
beautiful mosques in the Muslim world", as government forces and rebels struggle
for control of Syria's second city.
Turkey said it had searched an Armenian plane taking aid to Syria, after it
made a planned landing.
A spokesman was quoted as saying that Turkey wanted to check that the plane
was not carrying military equipment before letting it continue its journey to
the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Last week, Turkey forced a Syrian plane to land, claiming that it was
carrying Russian-made "munitions" for the Syrian army. Syria and Russia denied
the plane was carrying anything illegal.
Getting
'worse'
Mr Brahimi met top Iranian officials in Tehran during a regional tour, as he
presses for a way to resolve the conflict in Syria.
Aleppo's Umayyad mosque is said
to have been badly damaged during fighting
In a statement at the end of his visit, the UN-Arab League envoy "reiterated
the call by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a ceasefire and a halt to the
flow of arms to both sides".
He "underlined that the crisis in Syria was getting worse every day and
stressed the urgent need to stop the bloodshed".
The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha is expected to start in about 10 days'
time.
Mr Brahimi, who succeeded former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan as envoy to
Syria, is now in Iraq. He visited Saudi Arabia and Turkey last week.
In a statement, the EU said Mr Brahimi had its "full support" and "stands
ready to strengthen its cooperation with him".
Protests against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in Syria
in March last year.
The violence has gradually escalated. Activists say more than 30,000 people
have been killed, while the UN estimates that at least 20,000 have died.
Hundreds of thousands have fled to neighbouring countries.
Turkey's disaster management agency said on Monday that there were 100,363
Syrians at camps on the Turkish side of its border with Syria.
Turkey had earlier said it would struggle to cope with more than 100,000
refugees.
Jordan has said it intends to set up a new camp at Marajeeb al-Fahood, east
of the capital, Amman, for those fleeing the violence in Syria.
Officials say Jordan is home to at least 200,000 Syrian refugees, more than
any other country in the region. More than 30,000 of these are in the UN-run
Zataari camp, with many more hosted by families.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário