UN chief says he raised rights violations with Assa

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday he had raised the issue of the possible violation of human rights with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a phone conversation a day earlier.

Ban said he had urged Assad to take decisive reform measures "before it was too late. I raised also the possible violation of human rights, and that human rights should be fully protected of those people, peaceful demonstrators," Ban told a news conference in the Bulgarian capital. (Reuters)