UN Chief Says No Military Solution to Syrian Crisis

The solution to the Syrian crisis should not be military, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.

"Government and opposition forces seem to be determined to see the end by military means," Ban said as quoted by the BBC as he was addressing a press conference to mark the UN General Assembly’s new session.

"I think military means will not bring an answer. That should be resolved through political dialogue,” he said as fighting continued in the Syrian capital Damascus and the country’s northern city of Aleppo.

The Syrian conflict has claimed up to 20,000 lives according to estimates by various Syrian opposition groups. The UN estimates the death toll at over 18,000 people. The Syrian authorities say 8,000 were killed.

The West is pushing for President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in Syria, saying that the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.