The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights announced on Monday that opposition gunmen executed over 20
Syrian soldiers in Aleppo.
5 civilians were
killed as pro-regime troops shelled several neighborhoods in Aleppo, according
to the Observatory.
The Observatory said that the death toll of the
explosion that rocked the municipal stadium’s neighborhood in Aleppo rose to
27.
International positions
At the opening
of the U.N. Human Rights Council's month-long session, Ban told diplomats that
he was "deeply troubled by the aerial bombardments of civilians by
government forces; by the increasing sectarian tensions; by the deteriorating
humanitarian situation; and by the apparent choice of both sides to pursue a
solution through force rather than dialogue."
The summit comes at
a time when new
international envoy to Syria,
Akhdar Ibrahimi, arrived
to Cairo on Sunday. This trip comes in line with efforts to broker peace after nearly
18 months of
violence in Syria.
An independent
panel set up by the Human Rights Council to look into rights abuses in Syria
had recommended that the council's president forward its report to Ban, who
could bring it to the attention of the Security Council.
Separately, the "Syrian Islamic Scholars Association", was appointed from Doha as a religious reference to support the Syrian revolution.
The UN-Arab special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Ibrahimi said during his
visit to Cairo that he expects to be facing a very difficult task in
Syria.
Ibrahimi added that he will be visiting Syria in the next
coming days to meet with several officials and a number of civil society
organizations.
Within this framework, Egypt announced
that a meeting on Syria will be held next Monday in Cairo between the
top officials of Egypt, Iran, Turkey and KSA.
Later on
Monday, the Dutch Foreign Ministry announced that the “Friends of Syria” will
be meeting in Netherlands on September 20 to widen the scope of sanctions and
beef up measures against the Syrian regime.
Russia and
China, two of the five veto-wielding permanent members on that 15-nation
council, have effectively blocked major powers from responding in a coordinated
fashion to the Syria crisis.
Iran participated today in the first
meeting for the "Quartet Communication Group" on Syria which Egypt
proposed.
Separately, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov told a
French newspaper that Syri'as Assad rule "still solid". He also added that Assad has told Russia he
would step down if the Syrians chose another leader in an election.
AP/LBCI
For the full LBCI report, please click on the video above