U.N. Chief Demands 'Determined Measures' to End Syria Crisis

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged the Security Council to take "determined measures" to end the war in Syria, as it entered its fifth year with little prospect for peace.

"The Syrian people feel increasingly abandoned by the world as they enter the fifth year of the war that has torn their country apart," Ban said in a statement.

The suffering continues "under the eyes of the international community, still divided and incapable of taking collective action to stop the killing and destruction," he said.

"I call upon the Security Council to take determined measures to resolve this crisis and on the way forward."

The Security Council has been divided over how to put Syria back on the road to peace, with Russia blocking moves to punish its ally President Bashar Assad in Damascus.

Ban's appeal for action came as more than 20 rights groups accused the Security Council of "failing Syria" despite three resolutions calling for peace efforts, access for humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians.

A plan by U.N. peace envoy Staffan de Mistura for a freeze in fighting in the northern city of Aleppo appears to be making little headway, as the death toll mounts.

Last year was the deadliest yet in the war, with at least 76,000 people killed out of more than 210,000 since it began on March 15, 2011 with peaceful demonstrations, inspired by the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia.

More than four million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries and 7.6 million civilians are displaced within the country as Assad's forces battle opposition rebels and extremists from the Islamic State group.

While world powers were rightfully mobilizing to defeat IS extremists, "our focus must continue to be with the Syrian people," Ban said.

He called on the international community to "unite and lend its full support" to U.N. efforts to forge a deal for a political transition in Syria and to bring those responsible for atrocities to justice.

"We have an obligation to the Syrian people to help ensure that serious crimes committed over the past four years do not go unpunished," he said.

Russia and China last year vetoed a Security Council resolution on referring Syria to the International Criminal Court for war crimes prosecutions.