Ban Ki-moon: how many more must die in Syria? Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, announced the plan after meeting members of the Security Council in New York, where he urged them to act as soon as possible to stop the spiralling violence. And he claimed that last week's failed UN Resolution, which proposed backing an Arab League plan to secure a peaceful transition to democracy and the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, had emboldened the regime and encouraged its deadly attacks in the rebel town of Homs. The failure is disastrous for the people of Syria. It has encouraged the Syrian government to step up the war on its own people. I fear that the appalling brutality we are witnessing in Homs, with heavy weapons firing into civilian neighbourhoods, is a harbinger of things to come. I am convinced that the deteriorating situation in Syria will notleave the rest of the region untouched.