UN chief issues new warning over Syria strikes amid Obama G-20 push.
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Source: Al Jazeera America
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that an "ill-considered" strike on Syria could have "tragic consequences" for the strife-torn country, as President Barack Obama continued lobbying efforts for military action at the G-20 summit.
Speaking at an event on the sidelines of meetings in St. Petersburg, Russia, Ban called on world powers to put aside their differences over the Syrian conflict, and to take concerted action to get desperately needed aid to the population. “This is a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions in recent history,” he said, adding that a missile strike could lead to an “increased threat of further sectarian violence”.
His warning came as Obama continued his push to persuade world leaders to back proposed military action to punish the Syrian government for its alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians. At a dinner for delegates on Thursday evening, the U.S. president insisted that there was very strong evidence that Syrian forces used chemical weapons, according to a senior U.S. official.
Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters that Obama “once again underscored the very high confidence that we have” that the government of Bashar al-Assad was behind the attack last month in a Damascus suburb. The U.S. has said more than 1,400 people, including at least 400 children, were killed as the result of the deployment of chemical weapons on Aug. 21. Assad has vehemently denied responsibility for the assault. But on Thursday, the U.K. presented fresh evidence that it claims shows that sarin gas was used in the attack. “We are confidence and remain confident that Assad was responsible,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. Last week, the U.K. parliament voted against authorizing air strikes in Syria.
Read more: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/6/un-chief-strikesonsyriacouldhavegraveconsequences.html
The UN Secretary General has spoken, but will the one man who matters listen?
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