Syria reacts to Ban Ki-moon’s accusations over civilian deaths

Syria says it does not require the advice of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon after the outgoing official accuses the Syrian government of killing civilians.

The secretary general “has deviated from its role in finding just solutions for international problems,” said a statement released by the Syria’s Foreign Ministry late on Tuesday.

Ban made the accusations during his farewell address to the General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

The Syrian statement noted that the address deviated “extremely far from the rules of the UN charter,” while stressing that the international body had not achieved anything towards resolving any conflicts during Ban’s mandate.

It went on to state that the people of Syria hold the right to self-determination and “do not need Ban’s advice.”

During his address, Ban said all parties to the conflict in Syria have killed civilians, “but that none more so than the government of Syria.”

He also slammed a recent attack on a UN aid convoy in Syria’s Aleppo as a “sickening, savage and apparently deliberate attack.”

On Monday, the United Nations said at least 18 trucks in a 31-vehicle convoy were destroyed as they came under attack while en route to deliver humanitarian aid to the hard-to-reach town of Urum al-Kubra.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Over the past few months, the militants active in the Arab country have suffered major setbacks as the Syrian army has managed to liberate several areas.