Zeenews Bureau
Aleppo: Amid escalating violence, UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged the world to stop the ‘slaughter’ in Syria.
"I make a plea to the world: `Do not delay... Act now to stop the slaughter in Syria`," the UN secretary-general said.
His plea came after the UN said it had pulled half of its troubled observer mission from Syria. Earlier in the day, Syrian government reportedly pulled out troops from the border with Turkey to fight against rebels in the second city of Aleppo.
There were also reports of troops are marching to Aleppo to step up the attacks against rebel fighters.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous said that the situation in Syria remains the utmost concern of the UN Security Council while half of the UN observers have returned home.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government is closing all its checkpoints on the Syrian border, Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici said. Syrian insurgents have launched frequent attacks in the last few days at its border points, including near the Iraqi border.
In an attempt to attain peace, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi also called for a peaceful settlement of Syrian crisis and renewed Iran`s call for the Syrian government and opposition to hold talks, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
(With Agency inputs)