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UN Chief Condemns Violence in Syria

   VOA News  April 27, 2011
   Syrians protest in the city of Banias holding up a sign that reads in
   Arabic, "Stop the innocent blood bath" on April 26, 2011

Photo: AFP/STR

   Syrians protest in the city of Banias holding up a sign that reads in
   Arabic, "Stop the innocent blood bath" on April 26, 2011

   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the
   continuing violence against anti-government protesters in Syria,
   specifically the use of tanks and live fire that have killed and
   injured hundreds.
   The U.N. chief called for an independent inquiry into the violence.
   Members of the U.N. Security Council are expected to meet Wednesday to
   discuss a joint statement condemning the crackdown.
   U.S. State Department official Jacob Sullivan has said that, for now,
   Washington will limit its response to diplomacy and possible sanctions.
   Truckloads of troops deployed early Wednesday into a suburb near the
   capital, Damascus, while soldiers bolstered their positions in the
   flashpoint town Daraa.
   More than 400 people have been killed since pro-democracy protests
   erupted last month. The Syrian rights organization Sawasiah says at
   least 500 people have also been arrested.
   President Bashar al-Assad last week ended the country's 48-year-old
   emergency law - a key demand of protesters - and abolished a state
   security court. But the government then took other steps to crush
   demonstrations.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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