Syria accuses UN chief

A Syrian government newspaper says UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is encouraging militant attacks by focusing his criticism on the government.

Today’s editorial in the state-run Tishrin daily comes a day after Ban said Syrian president Bashar Assad’s continued crackdown on protests has reached an “intolerable stage”.

Tishrin says Ban has avoided talks about rebel violence in favour of “outrageous” attacks on the Syrian government.

The Syrian capital was hit by four explosions on Friday that left at least 11 people dead and dozens wounded.

Assad’s government blamed the blasts on “terrorists,” the term the government uses to describe opposition forces that it says are carrying out a foreign conspiracy.