Annan tells UN Security Council that Syria crisis will soon be out of control

During a special session of the U.N. General Assembly devoted to the Syrian crisis, Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked and sickened" by reports about the killing , citing an "unspeakable barbarism."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the U.N. General Assembly that international observers have come under fire when they attempted to reach villages where civilians were massacred.

"Heavy weapons, armor-piercing bullets had all been used against U.N. observers in Syria to hamper their efforts to monitor the worsening conflict".

For his part, International envoy Kofi Annan admitted that his six-point peace plan had not been implemented by the Syrian government .

Annan stated that it’s time to see what else can be done or consider other options to solve the conflict and urged to do this as soon as possible as the situation may become critical.

Ban and Annan briefed the Security Council only hours after a new massacre in Hama province in which at least 100 people were reported killed.

On the other hand, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, denounced the "horrible and unjustifiable massacre." Damascus blames the killings on "terrorist groups" backed by Islamists abroad.

On Thursday, the Syrian government said it was not involved in the carnage. In addition it said the scale of the tragedy was extremely exaggerated by the opposition, saying only nine people and not 87 have become victims of the events in the villages of Mzraat al-Qabeer and the neighboring town of Maazarif.

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to transfer power and leave the country. Clinton made this statement at a press conference held jointly with the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the sidelines of the Global Forum against Terrorism in Istanbul.

Clinton said the U.S. will continue to raise the political and economic pressure on the Syrian government. "We will intensify our efforts to support the Syrian people, given the urgency of the situation," she said.

In related news regarding syria crisis, Al-Jazeera network reported that Syrian opposition sources claimed on Thursday that aircraft belonging to the Syrian Air Force have dropped toxic material into the province of Daraa.

According to the report, Assad’s regime forces had used unidentified gas shells on civilians in Daraa, Hama and Deir ez-Zor.

The story of the Syrian opposition could not be independently verified as Assad regime restricting access to its territory to foreign journalists.

Sources: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4239862,00.html

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/08/219279.html