U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
said Saturday that Syrian authorities have "manifestly failed" to protect civilians and called on the international community to act to stop the violence.
"The Syrian government has manifestly failed to protect civilians and the international community has a collective responsibility to live up to the U.N. charter and act on its principles," Ban said during a visit to Croatia's Brijuni Island as part of a week-long Balkans tour.
Ban added that he was "deeply distressed by the rising corpse count and the number of people forced to flee their homes" as heavy festivities between troops and rebels raged in Syria's second city Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
Saturday, according to activists.
The capital Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
was calm after a day of fierce fighting.