U.N. says fears "bloodbath" in Syria, urges halt to fighting

The United Nations reiterated its appeal on Friday for a halt to hostilities in northwest Syria, saying it feared that the violence "may end in a bloodbath".

Some 60% of the 900,000 people who have fled but are trapped in a shrinking space are children, OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told a Geneva news briefing. The "relentless violence" must stop before it degenerates into "what we fear may end in a bloodbath", he said.