UN chief calls for political solution in Syria

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the start of a political process to establish peace in Syria and end the country’s two-year crisis.

Ban made the remarks in a statement issued by UN spokesman Martin Nesirky to reporters in New York on Monday, Xinhua reported.

He said a political solution is needed to restore stability in Syria, adding that the international community must “inject urgency towards reaching a political solution.”

The UN secretary general also called on the international community to prepare the ground for a political dialogue to create a roadmap for the country.

“The country is facing a humanitarian crisis, with over 3 million people displaced from their homes, including 1 million seeking safety in neighboring countries,” he noted. “Cities and villages, including some world heritage sites, have been destroyed. This is the result of a choice to resort to arms over peaceful political dialogue and genuine change.”

A UN investigation into the Syrian crisis said on March 11 that the violence in the country has reached “new heights of destruction.”

“There is an urgent need for a sustained diplomatic initiative to put an end to the violence and the suffering of the Syrian population,” Paulo Pinheiro, the Chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“If the national, regional, and international actors fail to find a solution to the conflict and stop the agony of millions of civilians, the alternative will be the political, economic, and social destruction of Syria and its society, with devastating implications for the region and the world,” Pinheiro stated.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.