U.N. resolution on Syria slams regime, upbraids Security Council

(CNN) -- A U.N. General Assembly resolution approved Friday stresses "grave concern" over the deteriorating conflict in Syria and slams the government for its actions and the Security Council for its "failure" to counter the crisis.

The assembly adopted the Saudi-sponsored resolution 133-12 with 31 abstentions. It comes a day after Kofi Annan announced his resignation as the U.N. and Arab League special envoy to Syria. He championed a six-point peace plan that has failed to take hold.

The resolution notes "human rights abuses by armed opposition groups" and condemns "all violence, irrespective of where it comes from, including terrorist acts."

But most of its ire is reserved for Bashar al-Assad's regime. It strongly condemns "the continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities and pro-governmental militias."

It cites "the use of force against civilians, massacres, arbitrary executions, the killing and persecution of protesters, human rights defenders and journalists, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, interference with medical treatment, torture, sexual violence, and ill-treatment, including against children."

The resolution criticizes the government for failing to protect its citizens and its use of heavy weaponry, "including indiscriminate shelling from tanks and helicopters, in population centers and the failure to withdraw its troops and the heavy weapons to their barracks."

It also underscores its "grave concern at the threat by the Syrian authorities to use chemical or biological weapons."

The resolution expresses "deep concern at the lack of progress towards implementation of the six-point plan," and deplores "the failure of the Security Council to agree on measures to ensure the compliance of Syrian authorities with its decisions." It also renews a call for a Syrian-led political transition, one of the points in the plan.

General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, unlike Security Council resolutions. But diplomats at the General Assembly strongly upbraided the Security Council, where Russia and China have vetoed tough resolutions against Syria.

Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Syria were among those voting against the resolution. Algeria, India and Pakistan were among those abstaining. Of Syria's neighbors, Lebanon abstained and Iraq, Jordan and Turkey voted for the resolution.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice hailed the vote "by an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states."

"The General Assembly demanded once more that the first step in the cessation of violence be made by the Assad regime," she said. "Importantly, the resolution also welcomes the Arab League's July 22 decision, which calls for Assad to step down and for a transitional government to be formed. The United States is pleased that the General Assembly has made it abundantly clear that Syria's chemical weapons must remain secure and that members of the regime will be held accountable in the event such weapons are used."

"The conflict in Syria is a test of everything this organization stands for," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said to the assembly ahead of the vote. "I do not want today's United Nations to fail that test."

Violence intensified across Syria on Friday, and Ban made reference to the violence in Aleppo, the nation's most populous city. For days, it has been engulfed in fighting between regime forces and rebels. An all-out battle is predicted there.

"As we meet here, Aleppo, one of the most ancient and storied cities in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the epicenter of a vicious battle between the Syrian government and those who wish to replace it," Ban said. "The acts of brutality that are being reported may constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes. Such acts must be investigated and the perpetrators held to account."

At least 105 people were reported dead in the country's violence on Friday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees said. The group said at least 69 of the fatalities occurred in a government "massacre" in the Hama neighborhood of Arbaeen.

Shelling and fighting raged in the Damascus region, including the suburb of Domair, which regime forces have shelled for 16 straight days.

As they have every Friday since the uprising began nearly 17 months ago, protesters marched across the country with a theme for the week. Deir Ezzor, the restive province in the east, was the focus of anti-government demonstrators. On Friday, their theme was "heroic Deir Ezzor, the coming victory from the east."

Regime shells have battered the area for weeks, and protesters wanted to show solidarity with the people there. At least seven people had been killed in Deir Ezzor on Friday, the LCC said.

"Despite the big battle in Aleppo, we feel that Deir Ezzor is also leading the fight against the Assad regime and most of the cities and villages in the province have been liberated," said Mohammed Sarmini, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Council, the anti-Assad political movement based in Turkey.

Sarmini also said that rebel forces are buoyed by strides in places like Aleppo, Deir Ezzor and other hot spots, and that some members of the SNC leadership will soon be relocating to Syria.

He said the opposition is working on setting up a secure central command.

"Our main mission is to form local neighborhood councils in order to avoid the cities slipping into chaos once the regime falls," Sarmini said "We had to wait until we had more liberated areas, and now we feel more confident after the latest developments in Aleppo."

The crisis continues to force the displacement of Syrians in the country and in neighboring lands, the U.N. refugee agency said. On Friday, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees issued a count of refugees it registered and others awaiting registration.

Among the registered refugees, 44,038 are in Turkey, 40,199 in Jordan, 35,364 in Lebanon and 12,409 in Iraq. There are many others who haven't been registered. For example, an estimated 150,000 Syrian refugees have entered Jordan since March of last year.

Refugees who previously entered Syria have been affected, with more than 20,000 Iraqis retuning home. The United Nations said 20 people have died and dozens have been wounded in the Damascus neighborhood of Yarmouk, where many Palestinian refugees live. One Sudanese in Damascus was wounded, and an Iraqi refugee said his son died from gunfire.

France is head of the U.N. Security Council this month. Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the United Nations, said Thursday that the council wants to focus on humanitarian issues.

Qadri Jameel, the Syrian deputy prime minister who is part of an economic delegation visiting Russia, told reporters that the European and U.S. sanctions against the regime are causing misery.

"The economic sanctions target and affect every Syrian citizen," he said.

The Syrian crisis started when al-Assad's security forces launched a violent crackdown on peaceful protests in March 2011. That clampdown spurred a nationwide uprising as armed rebels, including military defectors and other fighters, battled under the Free Syrian Army.

The conflict has claimed roughly 17,000 lives, Ban has said. Opposition activists put the toll at more than 20,000. Ban said that "what is especially tragic about Syria is that this catastrophe was avoidable."

"Nearly 18 months ago, knowledgeable observers predicted that, if the Syrian government responded to peaceful demonstrations with brutal force, including mass round-ups and torture -- as it in fact did -- then demonstrations would increasingly turn violent," he said. "They also predicted that the unchecked spread of violence would lead to a rise of radicalization, extremism and terrorism. The next step was also forewarned: a proxy war, with regional and international players arming one side or the other. All of these dire predictions have come to pass."

CNN's Saad Abedine, Anna Maja Rappard and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.