Syrian Rebels Urge Arab League to Turn to U.N.
The Free Syrian Army on Monday urged the Arab League to let the U.N. handle the crisis in Syria, accusing President Bashar al-Assad's regime of pressing on with a crackdown despite an Arab plan to end the unrest.
In a statement signed by its leader Riad al-Asaad, it called on the 22-member bloc to "quickly transfer the case of Syria to the U.N. Security Council."
The statement, sent to Agence France Presse, appealed to the international community to "act quickly against the regime through Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter to maintain peace" in Syria.
The Free Syrian Army is made up of deserters and says it has 40,000 troops stationed in neighboring Turkey.
The Syrian National Council, an umbrella group, said in a statement earlier on Monday that it has set up a liaison office and a hotline with the FSA to follow political developments on the ground.
In Abu Dhabi, the U.N. secretary general appealed Monday to the Security Council to act with "seriousness" on Syria.
"The situation has reached an unacceptable point," Ban told reporters on the sidelines of an energy summit.
"I sincerely hope that the Security Council will handle this in a sense of seriousness and gravity and in a coherent manner," he said, urging member states to overcome their differences.
In October, Russia and China vetoed a Western draft resolution that would have condemned Assad's regime. Russia, which is sticking by its ally, later circulated an alternative that would have pointed the finger at both the regime and the opposition.
And on Monday Russia distributed a new draft resolution on the Syrian crisis at the U.N. Security Council after facing weeks of criticism over the slow pace of talks, diplomats said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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