UN slams Security Council's Syria failure

Updated

The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a resolution criticising the Security Council's failure to act on the Syria conflict, which UN leader Ban Ki-moon said has become a "proxy war".

The resolution also condemning president Bashar al-Assad's use of "heavy weapons" in the civil war was approved by 133 votes, with 12 countries against and 31 abstentions.

Members deplored "the Security Council failure to agree on measures" to make the Syrian government carry out UN demands to end almost 18 months of fighting, the text read.

Russia and China have vetoed three Security Council resolutions on Syria, and many diplomats said the assembly resolution was a show of frustration and anger at the lack of international action on the conflict.

The measure condemned "the Syrian authorities' use of heavy weapons including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and helicopters" and demanded the government refrain from using its chemical weapons.

Ahead of the vote, Mr Ban told the assembly that Syria had become a "proxy war" and also turned on the Security Council, which he said had become "paralysed" by divisions over the conflict.

"Now, with the situation having worsened, they must again find common ground," he said.

"The immediate interests of the Syrian people must be paramount over any larger rivalries of influence."

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous also warned that the main battle for Aleppo was about to start.

The Syrian army has reinforced its positions in and around Aleppo over the past two weeks, while conducting daily artillery and aerial bombardments of rebel forces in the city.

"The focus two weeks ago was on Damascus. The focus is now on Aleppo, where there has been a considerable build-up of military means, and where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start," Mr Ladsous said.

Activists say Assad's forces killed more than 110 people in a series of attacks across the country on Friday and are reporting intensified fighting in several cities, including the Salaheddine district of Aleppo.

"Today fierce clashes are taking place in Salaheddine right now and there are 20 civilians killed. The district is being shelled by artillery and helicopters," an activist said via Skype.

The surge in violence came within hours of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan quitting as international peace envoy for Syria and underlined the impotence of mediation efforts in the 17-month-old uprising against Assad.

For both rebels and the government, Aleppo with its 2.5 million inhabitants is a prize that could determine which side emerges dominant in a struggle that has already cost 18,000 lives, according to the opposition.

The focus two weeks ago was on Damascus. The focus is now on Aleppo, where there has been a considerable build-up of military means, and where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start. UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous

Rebels said on Friday they had captured a large police station in Aleppo after days of clashes. Rebel commander Abu Zaher said they had taken several police officers prisoner and seized weapons and ammunition.

Internet and telephone networks in Aleppo were cut for the third day, hampering attempts by rebels to coordinate and forcing them to use couriers to deliver orders.

Rebel control in areas around Aleppo is by no means total, with some villages loyal to Assad and others favouring the opposition. Police and soldiers were setting up mobile check points on some main roads leading into the city from the north.

About 1,000 Syrians, including a defecting brigadier-general, have fled to Turkey in the past 24 hours to escape the intensifying violence, a Turkish official said on Friday.

The group brought the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey to 45,500. At least 25 Syrian generals have taken refuge in Turkey.

Reuters correspondent Erika Solomon, who has just returned to Turkey after visiting Aleppo, has told Saturday AM that residents there have a sense of dread about what lies ahead.

When I left yesterday the residents were saying that they felt they were living in a calm before the storm, that they didn't believe that the regime was willing to let basically a large slice of the city, especially on the eastern side, just fall under rebel control for an indefinite period of time. And in fact, I think the thing that both they and us journalists who have been there are wondering is why the regime hasn't moved yet? And that's still not really clear. Some rebels are suspecting that they're trying to find a way to get supply lines in because the rebels control so much of the countryside around much of the city. So they're still not sure but what is definitely clear is that residents do not feel that this is over, even though the rebels themselves at least claim to have very high spirits and believe they're advancing on the city.

Solomon says the Syrian people do not expect western support in any real way.

It's good and bad I think from the rebel's perspective. On the one hand they're starting to really think about how can we do this for ourselves; what kind of tactics we can use? They've designed a lot to develop home-made explosives and so on, finding their own ways to attack the regime; really starting to think about their guerrilla tactics in I think a much more technical way than we were seeing at the beginning of the conflict.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Annan quits 'impossible' peace mission (Lateline)

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Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, syrian-arab-republic

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