UN to Assad: Military force on civilians must stop

The UN chief told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday that he was alarmed by the escalating violence in Syria and demanded that Assad stop deploying the military against civilians.

"In a phone conversation with President Assad of Syria today, the Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) expressed his strong concern and that of the international community at the mounting violence and death toll in Syria over the past days," the UN press office said in a statement. (Reuters)