UN chief says Syrian govt must stop violence, withdraw forces

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday the Syrian government had the prime responsibility to stop the violence in the country and withdraw its forces from urban areas in line with international mediator Kofi Annan's peace plan.

Ban and Annan, who held 90 minutes of talks in Geneva, issued a statement welcoming the UN Security Council's adoption of a resolution authorising the sending of an initial team to monitor the ceasefire in Syria and said they would do their best to deploy the monitors "as quickly as possible". (Reuters)