BICOM

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that the Arab League plans to revive its mission to Syria, and has sought help from the UN. Ban said Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Arabi had told him he intended to revive the monitoring mission in Syria, which collapsed last month. He also said Arabi proposed a joint UN-Arab League observer mission, including a joint special envoy. “In the coming days we will further consult with the council before fleshing out details,” Ban said.  The UN chief added that the “disastrous” failure to agree a UN resolution on Syria had encouraged Damascus “to step up its war on its own people.” Russia and China blocked a UN resolution last week to condemn the Syrian regime, and the international community has struggled to find alternative avenues to address the Syrian government’s massacre.

US Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain has called on the US to arm the Syrian rebels, but the Obama administration has said it is only currently considering humanitarian aid. The US is also planning to convene a ‘friends of Syria’ group of like-minded nations to examine ways to improve the situation. Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is flying to Washington for meetings today, said  “It is not enough being an observer… It is time now to send a strong message to the Syrian people that we are with them.”

Hundreds of people have been reported killed in the last few days in Homs, following Syrian army shelling which began last Friday. The United Nations has reported that more than 5,000 people have been killed since the conflict began last March.