The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) expressed “deep concern” about the latest bout of fighting which broke out after a significant group of the M23 attacked the national forces (FARDC) on 14 July in Mutaho, eight kilometres northwest of Goma, in eastern DRC. According to the Mission, heavy artillery and a battle tank were used in the attack.

“Any attempt by the M23 to advance toward Goma will be considered a direct threat to civilians,” the Mission warned. It also noted that the UN blue helmets stand ready to take any necessary measures, including the use of lethal force, in order to protect civilians.

The acting Special Representative of the Secretary General in the country, Moustapha Soumaré, urged restraint to avoid a further escalation of the situation.

“I call on all to abide by the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement and to allow the political process towards peace to move forward,” Soumaré said, referring to the UN-brokered accord adopted in February with the support of 11 nations and four international organizations (11+4), with the aim of ending the cycles of conflict and crisis in the eastern DRC and to build peace in the long-troubled Great Lakes region.

“I urge all signatories of the PSC Framework to exercise their influence in order to avoid an escalation of the situation,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for Africa’s Great Lakes Region, along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, visited the DRC in May to bolster support for the PSC Framework which Ms. Robinson dubbed a “framework for hope.”

Last month, there was talk of a possible resumption of peace talks between the Government of the DRC and the M23. At that time, Mrs. Robinson had urged both sides to engage in earnest discussion under the auspices of the Chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Mr. Robinson was convened in Burundi last week a conference to help develop a road map for women’s engagement in efforts to bring peace to Africa’s long-trouble Great Lakes countries.

Since March, tensions in the region have been heightened, leading to the Security Council to authorize in March the deployment of an intervention brigade within MONUSCO to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without FARDC, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC.

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.

“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.

Assad’s comments came in a pre-recorded interview with al Manar television, a Lebanese satellite television station affiliated with Hezbollah.

Dozens of Hezbollah militants are said to be fighting alongside Syrian forces in Qusayr the since May 19, when government forces launched an offensive to recapture the strategic town near the Lebanese border. Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said thousands of Hezbollah fighters were contributing significantly to the conflict in Syria.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said earlier this week that Hezbollah would fight in Syria until Assad’s survival was assured.

Assad, however, downplayed Hezbollah’s presence in Syria in his interview, saying that the number of fighters the Lebanese group had sent to his country was a “drop in the ocean” compared with the “hundreds of thousands” of Syrian government troops fighting against rebels.

“Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send – a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists.”

Reports have said up to 4,000 Hezbollah fighters have joined forces with the Syrian military, which has claimed to be winning the battle, Al Jazeera said.

He noted that the timing of the Qusayr battle is linked to the “Israeli escalation”.

President Bashar al-Assad also said Syria would be willing to attend peace talks with the opposition in principle with the condition that anything agreed upon would be subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a referendum.

“Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear.”

Assad was referring to talks, backed by Russia and the US  next month in Geneva. Peace talks aim at finding a political solution to the country’s civil war.

On the other hand, the National Coalition said it will not take part in would not participate in the Geneva talks until the international community intervened to end a siege in Qusayr, a town in Homs province near the Lebanese border.

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.

“The video that has just emerged from Syria, apparently showing a rebel leader cutting out and biting the heart of a dead soldier, depicts a truly atrocious act,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in comments from Geneva, noting that it is not yet possible to fully authenticate the clip.

“Mutilating or desecrating corpses during a conflict is a war crime,” Ms. Pillay stressed. “I urge the armed opposition groups in Syria to do everything in their power to halt such gross crimes.”

The High Commissioner urged an investigation of the incident, along with other alleged very serious violations by opposition fighters, including acts of torture and a succession of apparent summary executions and extra-judicial killings.

“I have repeatedly called for the case of Syria to be referred by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court, so that legal proceedings can begin against people believed to be responsible for serious international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, irrespective of whether they are on the side of the Government or are in opposition to it.”

Since 2011, fighting between the Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million in need.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog which relies on activists and medics on the ground for its information said that some reports indicate that more than 50 people were killed, including women and children while other reports put the toll to more than 100.

“There are reports of summary executions being committed by regime forces and pro-regime gunmen in Banias area, ” SOHR said.

“There are tens of villagers who have gone missing. Several houses were burnt and destroyed,” it added.

State media said regime forces “killed terrorists in Baida and the village of Mirqab, as well as in the district of Ras al-Nabah,” in Banias.

The SOHR said the violence in al Baida was “the first of its kind in the Banias area”, since the uprising began and that the army had cut off all communications with al-Baida.

“We strongly urge the Red Cross and legal organisations to head to al-Bayda village to document and verify the level of death and destruction caused,” SOHR said.

“Violence in the Banias area is extremely worrying since its demographics easily lead to sectarian communal violence,” it added.

Banias, along with Daraa in the south, saw some of the first demonstrations against the regime 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 falls.

The report of violence in al-Baida came as Chuck Hagel, US defence secretary, said arming the Syrian rebels was now a possibility.

“Communities affected by the crisis are in urgent need of food assistance, protection, healthcare, and water and sanitation support and there are serious concerns about widespread human rights violations across the country,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update.

“The ongoing humanitarian efforts have been hampered by insecurity and limited access to people in need,” it added, calling on all parties to facilitate access for all aid workers who need to reach affected communities with life-saving relief items such as food, water, shelter and medical supplies.

As of last week, nearly 40,000 people had fled the country, and on Tuesday the head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in CAR (BINUCA), Margaret Vogt, told the Security Council via video link from Bangui, capital of the impoverished country, that a return to legality is extremely critical.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that the country’s entire population of some 4.6 million people, including over 2.3 million children, is directly affected by the conflict due to the collapse of services and law and order. UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the country have also been affected as they had their offices, vehicles and warehouses looted.

The country has been wracked by factional violence for years, especially in the north. Last month a group rebels entered Bangui and forced President François Bozizé to flee.