UN chief seeks united stand on Syria

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who was due in Lebanon later Friday, urged the international community ahead of his visit to adopt a united stand in dealing with the revolt in Syria. Ban told the Arabic-language daily An-Nahar that it was essential the international community stand together to address the crisis that has left more than 5,000 people dead, according to the United Nations. He said he had repeatedly appealed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the bloodshed and listen to his people but that the latter had only made empty promises. Ban said the UN Security Council must take Assad's behaviour into account and speak in one voice in seeking an end to the crisis. Russia has repeatedly sided with Assad's regime and earlier this month sent a large naval flotilla to the Syrian port of Tartus in what Damascus said was a show of solidarity.