UN General Assembly convenes Syria session

UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly (GA) convened Thursday to vote on a resolution demanding an immediate halt to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's violent crackdown on dissent.

Introduced by Egypt on behalf of 27 other countries including Arab states, Britain and the United States, the draft resolution would have the world body condemn "systematic violations and human rights" in Syria.

If adopted, it would have the General Assembly demand that Syria immediately adopt an Arab League blueprint to calm the uprising, to "cease all violence" against civilians and withdraw security forces back to their barracks.

At least 41 people died earlier Thursday as Syrian armor moved on protest hubs, while prominent blogger Razan Ghazzawi and other top activists were arrested, monitors said ahead of the UN meeting.

The General Assembly meeting comes just days after Russia and China joined forces to use their veto power to derail a similar text in the UN Security Council. (AFP)