Syrian security forces pressed on with a deadly crackdown on dissent yesterday as the Security Council held more talks on Syria and the UN chief said President Bashar al-Assad has “lost all sense of humanity”.
Three more people were killed yesterday in Hama, activists said, a day after Mr Assad’s tanks shelled the central city following a bloody Sunday in which about 140 people were killed in Syria, including more than 100 in Hama.
The deaths have triggered a torrent of international condemnation and US Secretary General Ban Ki-moon vented his anger and frustration at the Syrian regime as the Security Council held a second days of talks on Syria.
“Since the beginning of this situation, I have issued many statements, I have spoken to President Assad several times, and I have expressed my sincere wish and genuine wish that he should genuinely, genuinely address these issues in a peaceful manner,” Mr Ban said.
He branded the weekend violence as “totally unacceptable” saying Mr Assad “must be aware that under international humanitarian law, this is accountable”.
“I believe that he lost all sense of humanity,” Mr Ban told a small group of reporters.
The 15-member Security Council is under mounting pressure to take a stand on violence in Syria but a first round of talks behind closed doors on Monday ended with no agreement.
Britain, France, Germany and Portugal hope to revive a formal resolution condemning Mr Assad’s crackdown. Russia and China – two of the five permanent Security Council members with veto power – threatened to block past attempts to pass a resolution on Syria.
Brazil, India and South Africa have also spoken out against a resolution or statement.
As fresh talks got under way yesterday, European nations distributed the text of a new draft resolution, but Russian and Indian envoys said it was barely different from a version they had already rejected.
“It is not new,” said Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
Indian envoy Hardeen Singh Puri, president of the council for August, said “there has been no change to the text which was on the table; there has been some technical update.”
Some diplomats say it is more likely it will now try to agree on a less formal statement, with no warning of UN action.
Three people were killed yesterday in Hama, including two brothers when a rocket hit their car while the third person was shot dead by a sniper, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
He also reported a “massive deployment of tanks on the road between Homs and Ruston” in central Syria where he said residents “are worried that the army is preparing to launch an operation.”