In a statement issued last night, Mr. Ban noted that Ramadan is one of four months in the Islamic calendar during which fighting is supposed to stop.

“For the sake of the Syrian people, therefore, I would like to call on all parties in Syria to respect this religious obligation for at least, at a minimum, one month,” Mr. Ban said.

“I am not calling for a contractual cease-fire or a negotiated truce. Nor am I referring to a measure limited to any one area. 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 – and to do so across Syria.”

This will be the third Ramadan that Syrian people mark since fighting began in March 2011 between the Syrian Government and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad. Since then, as many as 100,000 people have been killed, almost 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries and a further 4 million have been internally displaced.

“I am aware that some may see this call as unrealistic,” Mr. Ban said. “Lasting peace will only come through serious negotiation. But I am convinced that the Syrian people have every right to ask this of all those who claim to be fighting in their name. These are the kinds of gestures that can build hope and momentum toward peace.”

Mr. Ban also called for the release of detainees by Government forces and opposition groups, saying there are reliable reports of hundreds of women and children who are detained in various official and non-official centres across the country.

“I appeal to all sides for the immediate release of all these detainees. I call on President Bashar Al-Assad to intervene personally to end this treatment and release all prisoners,” he said.

Mr. Ban acknowledged that lasting peace will only come through negotiation, and reiterated the UN would continue to work with Russia and the United States to build on their agreement to achieve a political solution to the crisis and organize a conference in Geneva that would bring Syrian parties to the negotiating table.

“As the United Nations and others work actively to prepare the conditions for a successful peace conference on Syria, the Syrians themselves should use the holy month of Ramadan of the Year 1434 in the Islamic Calendar to make a symbolic but powerful contribution to open the way to the solution of the crisis in their country,” Mr. Ban said.

“In issuing this appeal for a peaceful Ramadan in Syria, I would like to invite all in the international community who voice concern for the people of Syria – governments, international and non-governmental organizations, the humanitarian community, religious leaders, and others – to add their voices publicly in support. A clear message must be sent that yet more violence is not the way. The Syrian people deserve no less.”

UN agencies will also continue their humanitarian support to those affected by the conflict, he added.

Speaking to reporters in New York, the World Food Programme (WFP) Emergency Coordinator for Syria, Muhannad Hadi, stressed that it is extremely important that aid continues to flow into Syria until the crisis is over, as there are many families inside the country that now depend entirely on UN assistance for food.

“[People] don’t have credit cards, they can’t borrow, prices have skyrocketed where food is available [...] we have come to a stage in many places in Syria where either food is delivered by the World Food Programme, or they will go hungry.”

At the same time, Mr. Hadi drew attention to the increasingly difficult conditions that his agency is facing, including multiple checkpoints and getting caught in crossfire.

“We cross lines every day. It is extremely difficult and extremely challenging, but it is our determination that keeps us going,” he said, adding that WFP provides assistance to both Government and non-Government controlled areas.

Mr. Hadi also urged continued support, noting that WFP needs $27 million every week to assist 4 million people inside Syria and approximately 3 million in neighbouring countries.

“Frankly now, I doubt whether the conference will take place in July,” Mr. Brahimi said ahead of talks in Geneva with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Bogdanov and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman.

This meeting, the first since the officials last met on 5 June, is due to pave the way for a potential conference aimed at finding a political settlement to the fighting between the Syrian army and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad, which since March 2011 has claimed more than 93,000 lives and sent some 1.5 million people fleeing to neighbouring countries for safety.

The representatives will be assessing what needs to be done “to create the right conditions for the Geneva Conference on Syria to take place with the best chances of success,” including the best time for it to be held, who should participate, how it should be structured and some of the questions to be discussed.

The Government of Syria has said it would attend such a conference, Mr. Brahimi said, while the opposition is expected to next meet on 4 or 5 July and would not be ready for an international conference that same month.

Mr. Brahimi said that while today’s trilateral meeting would not resolve all the basic questions, “I am confident that our discussions will be constructive and I am also confident that we will make progress.”

The situation on the ground in Syria “has hardly improved” since the June meeting, the envoy noted. “It is still relentless destruction, killing, more suffering, more injustice, and more uncertainty for the future of the Syrian people.”

There are also signs that the conflict is spreading across the border to neighbouring countries.

In Lebanon, more than 50 people were killed in clashes that broke out on 23 June between the army and supporters of a Sunni cleric in the southern city of Sidon, Mr. Brahimi said.

He added his voice to the condemnation by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly and the ambassadors of the permanent five Security Council members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“I naturally strongly support the statement of the Secretary-General, and I express my personal support to President Michel Sleiman, to the Lebanese Army and to all those who are acting to contain this very serious crisis in their country,” Mr. Brahimi said.

“Without enough safe water and sanitation, the likelihood that children in Syria and those living as refugees around the region will fall sick with diarrhoea and other diseases is certain to rise,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

In Syria, the availability of safe water is one third what it was before the crisis. Many of the civilians displaced by the conflict live in overcrowded shelters with insufficient access to toilets and showers. Sewage systems are damaged or overwhelmed by the increase in displaced populations, the agency stated in a news release. Without enough safe water and sanitation, the likelihood that children in Syria and those living as refugees around the region will fall sick with diarrhoea and other diseases is certain to rise.

In refugee camps like Domiz in Iraq – expanded to accommodate around 25,000 people but now hosting almost twice that number – conditions are just as severe. In Jordan’s Za’atari camp, aid agencies are struggling to meet the needs of what is now the world’s second biggest refugee camp, housing at least 120,000 people.

In Lebanon, more than half a million refugees are scattered in host communities and in informal tented settlements, placing increased pressure on existing water and sanitation services. Multiple families often share small apartments or live in makeshift settlements that lack access to safe water, basic toilets and waste collection. Women and children often have to walk long distances to collect water that in many cases may be unfit for drinking, UNICEF noted.

There are some 6.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the fighting between the Syrian army and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad. The crisis, which began in March 2011, has claimed more than 93,000 lives and sent some 1.5 million people fleeing to neighbouring countries for safety.

As the escalating conflict triggers larger population movements, UNICEF has accelerated efforts to provide sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services, reaching almost nine million people since the beginning of the year.

The agency warns, however, that funding constraints remain an issue. “Providing water, sanitation and hygiene services to those affected by this crisis is our most costly operation – but one of the least funded,” Ms. Calivis said.

UNICEF needs more than $200 million for its water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq until the end of the year. Nearly half way through the year, it remains $124 million short of this target.

The Ancient City of Damascus; Site of Palmyra; Ancient City of Bosra; Ancient City of Aleppo; Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din; and Ancient Villages of northern Syria were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the World Heritage Committee.

“The danger listing is intended to mobilize all possible support for the safeguarding of these properties, which are recognized by the international community as being of outstanding universal value for humanity as a whole,” said a news release issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The decision was taken as part of the Committee’s review of the state of conservation of World Heritage sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List. Currently meeting in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, the Committee will close in Angkor on 27 June.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has repeatedly called on both sides of the Syrian conflict to do all they can to prevent the destruction of the country’s cultural heritage amid the violence, which is currently in its third year.

Several sites have already suffered damage or have been destroyed since the fighting began in March 2011. This past April, there were reports that the minaret of one of the country’s most famous mosques, the Great Mosque at the heart of the ancient city of Aleppo, was reduced to rubble.

Also, last October, the city’s souk – considered to be the world’s most extensive covered market and a coveted tourist destination – suffered major damage during a fire amid the fighting between the Syrian army and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad.

More than 93,000 people have been killed so far in the conflict, which has also left 6.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and sent some 1.5 million fleeing to neighbouring countries for safety.

“We strongly endorse the decision to hold as soon as possible the Geneva Conference on Syria to implement fully the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, which sets out a number of key steps beginning with agreement on a transitional governing body with full executive powers, formed by mutual consent,” the communiqué stated.

However, the final communiqué failed to mention the fate of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Instead it condemned the use of chemical weapons generally and said the UN should be allowed to do an objective investigation.

The G8 leaders also expressed their deep concern “at the appalling human tragedy” that the UN estimates has cost the lives of over 93,000 people and led to 4.2 million internally displaced persons and 1.6 million refugees.

“We acknowledge the vital humanitarian role played by neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees, above all Lebanon and Jordan, in dealing with the significant economic and security pressures they are facing as a result of the conflict and refugee influx,” it added.

Meanwhile, divisions remained as Russia stood by its embattled ally rejecting reports of Assad’s regime using chemical weapons and said at his closing news conference that there is no proof that the Syrian government used the weapons.

The Syria conflict has put at odds Russia and Washington saying last week that it would start arming the rebels against the Syrian regime.

Putin, said that Russia would not rule out new arms supplies.

“We are supplying arms to the legitimate government in accordance with legal contracts,” Putin told a news conference according to AFP.

G8 leaders pledged around $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid with President Obama announcing over $300 million alone in additional life-saving humanitarian assistance.

Other issues that dominated the meeting were tax evasion and transparency.

“We had hoped we would not have to do it again, but today we are asking for $4.4 billion for the whole of 2013,” Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said in a joint press conference with other UN officials in Geneva.

“That’s more than half the combined total of all of our other appeals which cover 16 countries from Afghanistan through to Somalia,” she said.

The appeal, revised from $1.5 billion in January, covers relief activities for the Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP) and the Regional Response Plan (RRP).

Of the $4.4 billion, $1.4 billion will go to SHARP, assisting Syrians inside Syria, and $3 billion to RRP, which provides life-saving aid and protection to refugees in the immediate surrounding region. So far, $1.2 billion have been received.

In addition to this, the Governments of Lebanon and Jordan are seeking $450 million and $380 million, respectively, to support the efforts to provide education, health and other services to the refugees who are now in their countries.

“We estimate that 6.8 million people now need urgent help. That is one in three Syrians in need of urgent humanitarian assistance,” Ms. Amos said, adding that between January and April, the number of people displaced in Syria more than doubled. “These are massive figures, but those figures mask a human tragedy.”

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 80,000 people. In addition, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that some 1.6 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict, but notes that this number quickly escalating.

“We expect that we might reach 3.5 million refugees by the end of the year,” High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres told reporters. “The funds we are appealing for are a matter of survival for suffering Syrians and they are existential for the neighbouring countries hosting refugees.”

Mr. Guterres underlined that more than half of the refugees fleeing Syria are children, and noted that many are starting to show signs of moderate to acute malnutrition.

The appeal includes $1 billion that would enable the World Food Programme (WFP) to scale up its distribution of food both inside and outside Syria. The agency currently distributes food to more than 800,000 people outside Syria and an additional 2.5 million inside the country. With additional resources, the agency said it hopes to reach a total of 7 million Syrians by late 2013.

In a statement earlier today, his spokesperson said Mr. Ban is “following with the gravest concern” the situation in Qusayr, where fighting has intensified in recent days.

Mr. Ban reminded the Government of its responsibility to protect civilians who come under its control, including from the threat of militias. He also called on the warring parties to allow trapped civilians to flee.

In a separate statement later in the day, Ms. Amos and Ms. Pillay said they were “extremely alarmed” by reports that there as many as 1,500 wounded people in the city in urgent need of immediate evacuation for emergency medical treatment.

“The general situation in Qusayr is desperate,” Ms. Amos and Ms. Pillay said based on information they are receiving.

This includes “reports that civilian neighbourhoods continue to be indiscriminately attacked, and that other major violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are being committed,” according to the statement.

In addition to urging a halt to any actions that threaten civilian lives, the two senior officials reminded the Government and other parties to the conflict that they have an obligation under international human rights and international humanitarian law to protect civilians and allow neutral, impartial humanitarian organizations safe access to all people in need.

“We urge the parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian agencies to evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving treatment and supplies,” they said in the statement.

While it is not known how many people remain trapped in Qusayr, more than ten thousand have already fled to towns in the region including Hasiya and Al-Dumina, where they have sought temporary shelter in schools and unfinished buildings.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said yesterday at least 700 families – or some 3,500 people – have arrived to Hasiya, a small nearby town with a population of 16,000. They urgently need food, bedding, clean water and medical care.

The siege comes as preparations intensify for an international conference on Syria.

Mr. Ban “reminds all parties to the conflict that the eyes of the world are upon them, and that they will be held accountable for any acts of atrocity carried out against the civilian population of Qusayr,” his spokesperson said in the statement.

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.

Addressing the 23rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay emphasized that countries cannot continue to ignore the plea of civilians who are in dire need of protection and assistance.

“A humanitarian, political and social disaster is already upon us, and what looms is truly a nightmare,” she said. “Civilians bear the brunt of this crisis in which human rights violations have reached horrific dimensions. Confronted with the flagrant disregard of international law and human life on every side, I feel utter dismay.”

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust Mr. Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.

Ms. Pillay noted that the team dispatched by her Office in March to monitor the situation in Syria and in neighbouring countries has received information suggesting the Syrian Government continues to us indiscriminate force in residential areas, and that anti-Government forces are also committing human rights violations.

“I am extremely concerned at current reports suggesting that hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured, and thousands may remain trapped, by indiscriminate shelling and aerial attacks by Government forces in Al Qusayr. Safe passage must be given to any civilians wishing to leave,” she said.

“Wanton human rights violations are also being committed by anti-Government groups. Accounts gathered by our monitoring team suggest that armed groups have apparently used civilians as human shields, and that abductions are increasing. The accounts include allegations that certain opposition groups have forced young women and minor girls to marry combatants. And we continue to receive reports of anti-Government groups committing gruesome crimes such as torture and extrajudicial executions.”

Ms. Pillay urged the Security Council to refer the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court, emphasizing that war crimes committed by all parties cannot go unpunished.

“We must make it clear to both the Government and the armed opposition groups that there will be consequences for those responsible. And the world must take action to end this terrible conflict,” she said.

“One out of three people in Syria today needs international aid. Yet the international community seems unable to make a strong commitment to resolving the crisis. I urge States to make every effort to forge an end to this humanitarian disaster, for it sometimes seems that we can do little more than cry out in the darkness and try to count the dead,” she added.

Bulent Arinc, the deputy prime minister of Turkey, said investigators had established links between an intelligence agency of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the deadly car bombs.

The explosions which were set off near the municipality occurred on Saturday in a crowded area of the small town of Reyhanli in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria.

The blasts were likely caused by two cars filled with explosives, Interior Minister Muammer Guler told reporters after the attacks, but other reports indicated that there were three or more explosions.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the blasts are not a coincidence warning against provocations amid changes in neighboring Syria, Hurriyet daily reported.

“Such provocation can [come to mind] in such a critical transition phase regarding Syria. It is not a coincidence that this happened when diplomatic traffic is intensifying. We invite our citizens to be prudent. The incident will be investigated,” Davutoglu told reporters during his Germany visit.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon and John Kerry, the US secretary of state, both strongly condemned the bombings.

“This awful news strikes an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey, and how many times Turkey’s been a vital interlocutor at the center of my work as Secretary of State these last three months. Our thoughts are with the wounded and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” Kerry said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack and expressed the hope that the perpetrators of the attack will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.

“The Secretary-General condemns all acts of terrorism and reiterates that no cause or grievance ever justifies the targeting of civilians,” the statement said, adding that Mr. Ban sends his deepest condolences to the victims and their families, as well as to the Turkish Government and people, and wishes those injured a speedy recovery,” a statement by his office said.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights at least 62 murdered civilians have been found in a Sunni neighbourhood of the Syrian city of Banias,  reported AFP.

“We have identified 62 citizens by their names, photos, or videos, including 14 children,” the group said, adding that the toll could rise.

The group also,  posted online a video showing the bodies of 10 people it said were killed in the district of the city Ras al Nabaa with most of them being children.

The videos and reports of the killings could not be independently verified as the Syrian government restricts access for independent media.

Banias, like Daraa saw some of the first demonstrations since the two-year conflict began in March 2011.

The region’s three main coastal cities of Banias, Latakia and Tartus and their surrounding areas which are referred to as “Alawite heartland” where analysts predict that Assad could seek protection if his regime collapses.

Meanwhile , the State Department strongly condemned the massacre in al-Baida village.

“The United States is appalled by horrific reports that more than 100 people were killed May 2 in gruesome attacks on the coastal town of al-Bayda, Syria. Regime and Shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area with mortar fire then stormed the town and executed entire families, including women and children. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this tragedy,” State Department said in a statement.

“We strongly condemn atrocities against the civilian population and reinforce our solidarity with the Syrian people. As the Assad regime’s violence against innocent civilians escalates, we will not lose sight of the men, women, and children whose lives are being so brutally cut short. We call on all responsible actors in Syria to speak out against the perpetration of unlawful killings against any group, regardless of faith or ethnicity. Those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of human rights law must be held accountable.”

The massacre in Ras al Nabaa took place two days after gunmen loyal to the regime  killed at least  50 Sunnis in the nearby village of al-Baida.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have confirmed that the country’s air force carried out a strike against Syria and say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles, Al Jazeera reported.

The officials said on Saturday the shipment was weapons bound for the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Sectarian clashes and massacres have increased in the two-year-old uprising has been led by Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority  which has left more than 70,000 people dead.