Ban Ki-moon repeats Syria civil war warning

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has repeated a warning that Syria could be moving towards "catastrophic" civil war, in the wake of the Houla massacre.

"I demand that the government of Syria act on its commitment to the Annan peace plan," Mr Ban told a UN-led Alliance of Civilisations initiative in Istanbul.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has come under increasing pressure to adhere to the ceasefire plan since the Houla massacre, in which at least 108 people - many of them children - were killed.