UN Calls on Syria to End Killings

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday told Syria’s president to stop killing civilians.

“I say again to President (Bashar) Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people,” Ban said in a news conference in Beirut, reported The Associated Press.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the unrest since March, according to an estimate from the U.N.

Ban said that the one-man, family dynasties that have ruled the Middle East are ebbing away.

“Democracy is not easy,” he said, according to AP. “It takes time and effort to build. It does not come into being with one or two elections. Yet there is no going back.”

Ban noted, “The old way, the old order, is crumbling,” adding, “The silencing of the media, the deprivation of fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of every man, woman, and child on this planet—to all of this, the people say: Enough!”

The Local Coordination Committees, a Syria-based activist group that monitors the situation in the country, said that 18 people were killed across the country on Sunday.

Ban’s office also issued a statement the on the anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings that started in Tunisia. “One year ago, the world was inspired by the determination of the people of Tunisia to demand democracy, freedom, and dignity,” said the statement.

“Their courage echoed throughout the region, where other peoples, encouraged by the actions of their Tunisian brothers and sisters, found the courage to also make their rightful aspirations heard,” it added.