UNITED NATIONS - The UN chief told Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday that he was alarmed by the escalating violence in Syria and demanded that Assad stop deploying the military against civilians.
"In a phone conversation with President Assad of Syria today, the Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) expressed his strong concern and that of the international community at the mounting violence and death toll in Syria over the past days," the UN press office said in a statement.
It added that Ban "urged the president to stop the use of military force against civilians immediately."
