U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters in Syria to put down their weapons during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Reuters reports.
In a statement, Ban said Ramadan is one of the four months on the Islamic calendar during which fighting is supposed to cease.
“For the sake of the Syrian people, therefore, I would like to call on all parties in Syria to respect this religious obligation for at least, at a minimum, one month,” Ban said on the eve of Ramadan, which begins on Tuesday.
“I am calling for every military unit of the regular army and the Free Syrian Army, for every person holding a gun, to stop fighting and offer this month of peace as a collective present to their people – and to do so across Syria,” he said.
