Dubai: UN leader Ban Ki-moon said Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has "lost all humanity" as the UN Security Council held new talks yesterday on the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protests.
With the 15-nation council now under mounting pressure to take a stand on the worsening violence in Syria, the UN secretary general vented his growing anger at Al Assad's refusal to acknowledge international criticism.
The Syrian opposition, meanwhile, urged US President Barack Obama to call on Al Assad to quit from power immediately and press for UN sanctions against Syria over its deadly crackdown.
Radwan Ziadeh, director of the Syrian Centre for political and strategic studies, said the opposition presented its demands to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday.
Officials blacklisted
The European Union (EU) yesterday also named the officials who have been blacklisted for their role in crushing the uprising.
The latest EU sanctions blacklist Ali Habib, Syria's defence minister, Major General Tawfiq Younus, head of internal security for the intelligence directorate, Mohammad Mufleh, head of military intelligence in Hama, Ayman Jabir, an official responsible for coordinating the militia, and Mohammad Makhlouf, Al Assad's uncle and a close associate.
Meanwhile, Italy recalled its ambassador to Syria and urged other European nations to do the same.
