UN Secretary General Warns of Impending Civil War in Syria
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JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images(CHICAGO) — The secretary general of the United Nations came close to admitting Monday that a nearly six-week long ceasefire pact to end more than 14 months of violence in Syria has been a failure.
Attending the NATO summit in Chicago, Ban Ki-moon issued a statement that finding a peaceful solution to the conflict between government and rebel forces had reached “a pivotal moment” and that he’s “extremely troubled about the risk of an all-out civil war.”
Even with 200 U.N. monitors on the ground in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the killing continued Monday with army deserters being slain and a funeral turning into a target for government troops.
There were also reports of violence spilling over into Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, with street battles occurring between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar-al Assad.
Although NATO leaders agreed with Ban’s assessment that Syria is close to reaching a tipping point, there was no move by the alliance to intervene militarily in the conflict.
The Obama administration has also shown no desire to get involved in Syria with death toll figures since March 11 ranging from 9,000 to 12,000.
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