ban ki moonUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged world powers to work harder to end the nightmare in Syria as the Security Council met for urgent talks on the escalating war.

The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said Russia’s action in Syria was barbarism, not counter-terrorism. Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels seeking to topple him.

The Security Council was holding urgent talks after the UN Secretary General said he was appalled by the “chilling” air bombardments on Aleppo and warned that the use of advanced weaponry could amount to war crimes.