UN chief voices disappointment at lack of Syria ceasefire

October 30, 2012: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced deep disappointment on Monday that the call for a ceasefire in Syria has not been respected, stressing that more bloodshed will not resolve the crisis.
“I am deeply disappointed that the parties failed to respect the call to suspend fighting,” Mr. Ban said during a ceremony in the Republic of Korea at which he received the Seoul Peace Prize. “This crisis cannot be solved with more weapons and bloodshed.”He said the United Nations is doing its utmost to ease the humanitarian situation and to set in motion a political solution to the crisis.
“For this to happen, the guns must fall silent,” he stated. “I call once again for the parties to immediately stop the fighting.”
There had been expectations that the warring parties in Syria would agree to observe a ceasefire, starting last Friday, in observance of the Muslim religious holiday of Eid al-Adha, in the hope that it would help create an environment that would allow a political process to develop.
More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 20 months ago. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, and over 340,000 have crossed the border to Syria's neighbouring countries, according to UN estimates.