Assad says stopped police operations

Syrian President Bashar Assad told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that military and police operations against protesters had stopped, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

In a phone call with Assad on Wednesday, Ban "expressed alarm at the latest reports of continued widespread violations of human rights and excessive use of force by Syrian security forces against civilians across Syria, including in the Al Ramel district of Lattakia, home to several thousands of Palestinian refugees," the United Nations said in a statement. (Reuters)