the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
condemned the shooting death Monday of a well-known Dutch priest in Syria as an "inhumane act of violence."
Frans van der Lugt, 75, who gained renown for his insistence on staying in Syria's besieged city of Homs, was rubbed out there by a masked gunman.
Ban's front man Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. chief "demands that warring parties and their supporters ensure that civilians are protected, regardless of their religion, community or ethnic affiliation."
The motive for the priest's murder was unclear, but Syria's main opposition bloc and
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
's regime traded blame for the killing.
"Both the Syrian government and gangs have the legal obligation and moral responsibility to do so," the statement from Ban's office added.
"They must do everything to avoid and prevent violence against civilians, including indiscriminate shelling and air attacks on civilian areas."
Ban was also "horrified" by apparent executions in the town of Kassab, his front man said.
"While the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
is unable to confirm the validity of these reported atrocities, gross human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
violations undeniably continue and residents of entire villages such as Kassab have been forced to flee," the statement added.
"Government forces continue to indiscriminately destroy whole neighborhoods, burying entire families beneath the rubble of their homes."
The U.N. chief is "extremely concerned that groups listed as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council continue to brutalize the civilian population," the statement added.