UN chief says Syria massacre casts doubt on Assad's peace pledge
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday reports of a massacre by Syrian government forces cast "serious doubts" on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's commitment to a UN-backed peace plan.
"I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the indiscriminate use of heavy artillery and shelling of populated areas, including by firing from helicopters," Ban said in a statement. "They also cast serious doubts on President al-Assad's recent expression of commitment to the six-point plan in his meeting with the Joint Special Envoy," he said, referring to Assad's meeting with international envoy Kofi Annan in Damascus on Monday. (Reuters)
