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UN chief warns of imminent threat of Syrian civil war

Dunya News

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned of threat of a civil war in Syria.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the Security Council on Thursday (June 7) that a full-blown civil war in Syria was imminent, while international mediator Kofi Annan said it was time to step up the pressure on Damascus to halt the violence.The Syrian opposition and Western and Gulf nations seeking President Bashar al-Assads ouster increasingly see Annans six-point peace plan as doomed because of Syrias consistent use of military force to crush an increasingly militarized opposition.Western Security Council diplomats said the message from Annan and Ban at the United Nations was clear: It was time to hit Assads government with sanctions.The danger of a civil war is imminent and real, he said, adding that terrorists are exploiting the chaos.Both Ban and Annan strongly condemned a reported massacre of at least 78 people Mazraat al-Qubeir and acknowledged that Annans peace plan was not working.Earlier in the day, speaking to the 15-nation Security Council, Ban said hopes for success of Annans peace bid were fading and suggested that the United Nations must soon decide whether its 300-member monitoring mission in Syria was sustainable or useful, U.N. diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.It was the first time the U.N. leader floated the idea of pulling the plug on the observer mission, which many countries had hoped could help end 15 months of violence.Annan also warned that the Syrian crisis was already in sort of a civil war.All efforts are being made to ensure that if it were to become a full blown civil war it doesnt spread to the neighbors, Annan said.Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said the time has come for the council to impose sanctions on the Syrian government.Annan confirmed to reporters he was proposing a new contact group that would include Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France and key regional players with influence on Syrias government and the opposition such as Iran. Diplomats said he would also include Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.The membership of the group, the contact group that was referred to, all these issues are at very early stage and is under consultation, but I think Iran as an important part of the region, I hope will be part of the solution, Annan told reporters after a three-hour closed-door meeting of the Security Council.Annan did not, however, bring up the contact group idea during the council session, diplomats said, adding that he was discussing it with individual delegations instead.