The United Nations and the League of Arab States are considering sending a joint observer mission to Syria to try to end the crisis engulfing the Middle East country, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warning today that recent attacks against civilians in the city of Homs were “a grim harbinger of worse to come.”

Mr. Ban briefed the Security Council this afternoon on the latest developments in Syria, where well over 5,000 people have been killed as a result of a Government crackdown since a pro-democracy uprising began in March last year.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is sounding the alarm about the plight of children caught up in the bloodshed in Syria, where nearly 11 months of violence have led to the deaths and injuries of hundreds of young people.

“There are reports of children being arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sexually abused while in detention,” the agency said in a statement, adding that reported heavy shelling by Government forces of civilian neighborhoods in the city of Homs in recent days is no doubt causing further suffering for more children.

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Duke University Online Op-Ed Resource, http://www.pubpol.duke.edu
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the escalating violence in Syria today, calling on President Bashar al-Assad’s Government to immediately cease all hostilities against the country’s civilian population.

According to media reports, Syrian troops have continued their assault on the city of Homs, using heavy artillery and shelling against civilians as part of their wider crackdown against a public pro-democracy movement that emerged early last year.