UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the current crisis in Syria can only be solved through a political solution.

Ban made the remarks during the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait City on Tuesday.

The UN chief added that the Syrian people are suffering from the bloody war in their country, calling for the punishment of those responsible for “serious crimes” committed against the Syrians.

“The Syrian people are victims of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time,” Ban told the representatives from 78 countries who participated at the conference, noting, “Four out of five Syrians live in poverty, misery and deprivation.”

He further said that almost half of the Syrian people have been compelled to flee their homes.

On Saturday, the UN chief expressed anger and shame over the world’s failure to halt the fighting in Syria at an Arab League summit in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Last December, the UN warned about the potential of a terrifying humanitarian situation in Syria unless an amount of USD 8.4 billion is procured to address the country’s crisis.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria has entered its fifth year and has so far claimed the lives of more than 215,000 people.

By Press TV