UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the warring parties in Syrians and their supporters to "do everything" to protect civilians in the Middle East country, where armed conflicts entered its fourth year in March.

"In the face of troubling new reports of atrocities in the brutal conflict driving Syria to its destruction, the secretary-general demands that warring parties and their supporters ensure that civilians are protected, regardless of their religion, community or ethnic affiliation," said a statement issued here Monday night by Ban's spokesman.

"Both the Syrian government and armed groups have the legal obligation and moral responsibility to do so," the statement said. "They must do everything to avoid and prevent violence against civilians, including indiscriminate shelling and air attacks on civilian areas."

Ban's statement was prompted by the killing of an elderly priest in Homs, a city in western Syria and located some 162 km north of the capital Damascus, and what the secretary-general called "the gruesome images" purporting executions in the Syrian town of Kassab.

"The killing of an elderly priest, Father Frans van der Lugt, in Homs today is but the latest tragedy highlighting the urgent need to protect civilians," the statement said. "The secretary-general condemns this inhumane act of violence against a man who heroically stood by the people of Syria amid sieges and growing difficulties."

"The secretary-general is also horrified by the gruesome images purporting executions in the Syrian town of Kassab,"the statement said.

Kasab is a town in northern Syria near the Syrian-Turkish border.

"While the United Nations is unable to confirm the validity of these reported atrocities, gross human rights violations undeniably continue and residents of entire villages such as Kassab have been forced to flee," said the statement.

"The secretary-general is also extremely concerned that groups listed as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council continue to brutalize the civilian population," it said.

"There is a belief by too many in Syria and beyond that this conflict can be won militarily," the statement said. "More violence will only bring more suffering and instability to Syria and sow chaos in the region."

On March 24, the secretary-general, in his latest report to the UN Security Council, said that "brutality continues unabated" in Syria after more than 100,000 people have been reportedly killed and more than 600,000 others have been injured since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in March 2011.

More than 9.3 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 6.5 million internally displaced, he said. "Nearly 2.6 million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries and North Africa."

Since the Syrian crisis broke out, the United Nations has been leading an international effort to deliver the humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people in need, including Syrian refugees who fled to neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

"The secretary-general again urges all Syrians and their outside supporters to put a stop to this conflict, now," the statement said.

"Under the secretary-general's leadership, the United Nations is prepared to contribute to a new day in Syria by fostering a political settlement, providing humanitarian assistance, and supporting reconstruction," it said.

The United Nations maintains that there is only a political solution to the Syrian crisis. However, the UN-mediated peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition ended in February in Geneva without any tangible progress.