Ban condemns deadly Syria bombings

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Tuesday for an immediate end to the bloodshed in Syria, saying the country had become a breeding ground for "terrorism and criminal actions." The UN leader "strongly condemns" the deadly bombings that killed dozens of people in Damascus late Monday, his spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement. "The secretary-general is extremely concerned that the spiral of violence in Syria is creating a fertile ground for terrorism and criminal actions of all kinds. All violence must stop," the statement said. Ban also renewed his call for a political solution to the nearly 19 months of violence that have shaken Syria and left more than 32,000 people dead, urging all sides to move toward a political dialogue with international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. The secretary-general issued his remarks after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a nongovernmental group, said twin suicide bombings hit an air force compound near Damascus. The group said "dozens of people" died in the blasts, and that the fate of "hundreds of prisoners" held in the building's basement was unknown. Ban expressed concern about the welfare of those detainees. "The secretary-general reiterates that no cause can justify terrorist attacks, wherever, whenever and by whomever they are committed," Nesirky said, adding that resorting to continued violence "will only lead to more suffering and destruction."