U.N. anguished, appalled by continued killings in Syria

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi are deeply disturbed by the continued bloodshed in Syria, where more than 60,000 people have been killed in 22 months of civil war, the United Nations said on Monday.

“Both expressed deep disappointment and anguish at the appalling levels of killing and destruction carried out by both the Government and the opposition, fueled by outside powers providing weaponry to both sides,” the U.N. press office said.

“They also expressed their consternation about the lack of a unified international posture that could lead to a transition as agreed at Geneva last June and put an end to the desperate suffering of the Syrian people,” it said in a statement.

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Ban and Brahimi met in New York to discuss Syria. Brahimi has been trying to help Russia and the United States break their deadlock on Syria which has prevented the U.N. Security Council from taking any meaningful action on the conflict.

Russia and China have vetoed three council resolutions condemning Syria’s government over the conflict, and reject the idea of sanctioning President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Separately, John Ging, a senior official with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visited the battled-scarred Syrian city of Homs on Monday, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. Ging led a delegation of seven U.N. humanitarian agencies.

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The United Nations had coordinated with both the government and the Syrian opposition for the visit, Nesirky said.

He said the delegation was in Syria to assess humanitarian needs and find ways to improve access to people in need throughout the country. Members of the delegation were shocked by what they saw in Talbiseh and Homs, Nesirky said.

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau)