UN chief slams killing of civilians in Syria

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday slammed the killing of dozens of civilians in a Syrian village in Hama province, calling for an end to conflicts in the war-torn country.

In a statement, Ban condemned in the strongest terms all violence against civilians and called for perpetrators of this massacre and all other crimes in Syria to be brought to justice.

An al-Qaida-linked rebel group attacked the Ma'an village in the central province of Hama on Sunday, killing 42 people, the Syrian army said Monday.

The UN chief noted that "such horrific incidents should be a reminder to all of the urgency of ending the conflict and launching a political transition towards a new Syria where all people and communities are guaranteed protection, rights and freedoms."

More than 100,000 lives have vanished in the protracted civil war since it erupted in March 2011. Almost 9 million others were rendered homeless.

In Geneva, a second round of peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition, under the auspices of the United Nations, resumed Monday. The meeting, which aims to end the raging internal fighting and launch a Syrian-led political transition, has made little progress so far, international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said Tuesday.