U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Monday on all Syrian parties to observe a truce during the holy month of Ramadan.
“I am calling for every military unit of the regular army and the Free Syrian Army, for every person holding a gun, to stop fighting and offer this month of peace as a collective present to their people,” Ban said in a statement
He said in his “Ramadan appeal” a call for the release of detainees.
Ban reiterated the need for “a peaceful Syrian-led political solution for a democratic future in which all Syrians live in security, equality and dignity.”
Syria has already rejected the idea of a cease-fire with the opposition during Ramadan.
Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said Monday the rebels would have to be fully engaged in peace talks and commit to a U.S.-Russia sponsored round of talks in Geneva.
He was responding to a report in The Independent quoting the new head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition as offering a Ramadan cease-fire.
Source:Agence France Presse
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