HUMAN RIGHTS

U.N. Urges Aid to Syria

Says death toll is “much more” than 4,000.

United Nations human-rights head Navi Pillay issued yet another appeal to protect Syria’s people from the government’s ongoing brutal crackdown. Holding an emergency meeting in Geneva on Friday, she demanded that President Bashar al-Assad be held accountable for crimes against humanity. Pillay added that the death toll since the start of the uprising eight months ago is now “much more” than 4,000, and warned of a civil war in the region. Meanwhile, activists reported that at least five people were killed following fresh demonstrations on Friday, while four on the Syrian-Lebanese border were wounded in gunfire coming from Syria.